LITTLETON, Colo. — City leaders in Littleton will extend a temporary moratorium on new gas station development, a move designed to curb emissions and accelerate the community’s shift toward cleaner transportation.
The city, which already has 24 gas stations — roughly one for every 2,000 residents — first enacted the moratorium in May. On Tuesday night, council members extended that pause another 180 days to allow time for changes to Littleton’s Unified Land Use Code.
“The City of Littleton put in place a development moratorium for Fuel Sales (Retail) uses that were not already under review on May 6, 2025,” said Jessica Bixenman, the city’s communications director. “The moratorium was established after a study session that discussed the existing number and proposed additional fuel sales locations within the city. An economic analysis of fuel sales uses was provided at the Sept. 16, 2025, City Council meeting. As a result of that meeting, City Council directed staff to extend the moratorium and draft a text amendment to the Unified Land Use Code (ULUC) focusing on where the use would be allowed and implementing additional development standards. Staff intends to hold a study session with the Planning Commission in January as a next step in completing the text amendment to the ULUC. Tonight's council action is the extension of the moratorium to complete the code amendments.”
For Puspa Poudel, who has owned Horizon Food and Gas for eight years, the pause offers some optimism amid high competition from large chains.
“When we started, it was really, really good at the beginning. But nowadays, you know, like how lots of new gas stations came — things change,” Poudel said. “When a big gas station opens right next to you, you really cannot compete much, and then it hurts your business.”
“They are purchasing inventory high, so they get the better deal. And you really cannot compete, because you already buy your purchasing price so high. I'm really, really hoping no more new builds,” she said.
City officials say the existing number of gas stations already meets the needs of Littleton’s 46,000 residents, while electric vehicle adoption continues to grow statewide.
Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, said EV sales in the state have jumped in recent years.
“If you look back over the last year, it's varied a little bit, but it's varied between about 25 and 33% of new vehicle sales being EVs,” Toor said. “When you think of the smog and ozone problem we have in Denver and in the northern Front Range, one of the biggest things we can do to tackle that air pollution is move to electric vehicles.”
"The Energy Office really has the mission of both improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas pollution while helping to reduce consumer energy costs," Toor added, saying state-level tax credits have helped customers overcome initial costs. "We think that those consumer incentives have really helped people to get past the first cost of an EV so that they can then benefit from all of those long-term fuel and maintenance savings."
While Toor said Colorado’s market momentum for EVs is likely to continue, he noted the federal government is “certainly going in a different direction.”
“The Trump administration has turned away from electric vehicles, whether... removing vehicle emission standards that supported cleaner vehicles, including electric vehicles, or removing the federal tax credit that was $7,500 for each passenger vehicle,” Toor said. “It's a little early for us to know what the impact is going to be, but it's certainly going to make it... harder for EVs in the United States.”
Littleton City Council will revisit the issue once proposed code amendments are ready. For now, the brakes remain firmly on any new gas pumps in the city.
