Agenda Date: 10/20/2026
Subject:
Title
Ordinance 22-2026: An ordinance on first reading establishing a Temporary Moratorium on the acceptance, processing, and approval of applications for Data Centers and directing staff to study and recommend land use regulations for data centers
Body
From: James L. Becklenberg, City Manager Prepared by: Reid Betzing, City Attorney Presentations: N/A
PURPOSE:
To request that City Council consider on first reading Ordinance 22-2026, which would establish a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing, and approval of land use and development applications for data centers within the City while staff study the impacts of these facilities and prepare recommended amendments to the Unified Land Use Code.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Robust and Resilient Economy
DISCUSSION:
The proposed ordinance would pause new data center development in Littleton for a limited period so the City can determine whether, where, and under what standards these facilities should be allowed. For purposes of the ordinance, a “data center” is a building or portion of a building whose primary use is to house servers, data storage, and related networking, power, and cooling equipment serving off-site users, including colocation facilities, cloud computing facilities, and cryptocurrency mining operations. Server rooms and IT equipment that are accessory to and primarily serve another use on the same property, such as an office building or hospital, are not data centers under the ordinance and are not affected.
During the moratorium, the City would not accept, process, or approve rezonings, site development plans, subdivisions, use approvals, building permits, or other development approvals for the establishment, construction, or expansion of a data center. The moratorium would not apply to applications the City determined to be complete before the ordinance was introduced on first reading, to projects with vested property rights under C.R.S. § 2...
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