Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times

The City of Grand Junction and Mesa County are considering moratoriums on data centers while officials study the rapidly growing industry and determine how future facilities should be regulated.

The city mentioned a moratorium, possibly for one year, during a Sept. 14 workshop. Then, Mesa County joined it, saying in a Friday, Sept. 25 news release that the Mesa County Commission “will consider a moratorium on applications for data center projects in unincorporated Mesa County.”

The agenda for the county’s Sept. 29 Administrative Public Hearing listed the following as the first item in its Items Needing Individual Consideration: “Consider imposing a temporary Moratorium on the acceptance, processing, and approval of Land Use applications for data center facilities in unincorporated Mesa County, and suspending the negotiation of County inducements for such facilities.”

Meanwhile, Mesa County also is considering data-center regulations through a broader update to its Land Development Code for unincorporated areas. Both processes will provide opportunities for residents, businesses and property owners to comment before local standards are adopted.

Neither Grand Junction nor Mesa County currently has a formal application for a data center, according to local officials, but a commercial-construction database contains a listing for a potential 44,765-square-foot data center in Grand Junction.

Data centers house computer servers that store, process and transmit digital information. They range from facilities serving a single business to massive hyper-scale campuses supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Their effects vary by size and cooling system, but larger facilities can raise concerns about electricity and water use, noise, backup generators, infrastructure costs and compatibility with surrounding properties.

County seeks community input

Mesa County is rewriting its Land Development Code, which governs land-use decisions in unincorporated areas. The code determines which uses are allowed in different zones and which projects require additional review.

Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel identified data centers as one of several emerging or complex land uses the county should consider in a Sept. 11 guest column in The Daily Sentinel, accompanying the launch of a county land-use survey. Other subjects include community solar, battery storage, subdivisions, commercial development and development near agricultural operations.

Mesa County Community Development Director Greg Moberg told television station KKCO that the county has worked on the broader rewrite since early 2025. Its goals include making the code easier to understand and addressing types of development not covered by existing regulations.

“Currently under the existing code, the 2020 code, we don’t have any regulations relating to data centers or battery facilities,” Moberg said.

The proposed code would initially limit data centers and battery facilities to I-1 and I-2 industrial zones, keeping them out of Agricultural, Forestry and Transitional zones.

Moberg said industrially zoned areas represent a relatively small portion of the county, and currently available parcels are not large enough for the massive data centers proposed in some other communities.

“The lot sizes that we currently have or the parcel sizes that we currently have are fairly small,” Moberg said. “And so you’re not going to see the kind of data center that we’re hearing and seeing in other communities.”

Moberg said the county could later consider allowing data centers in additional zones and adopt requirements addressing building size and other issues.

The Mesa County Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the proposed code Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to consider it Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. Both meetings are scheduled at 544 Rood Ave. in Grand Junction.

City considers moratorium

The proposed one-year moratorium, discussed during the Grand Junction City Council’s Sept. 14 workshop, would give the city time to examine how other Colorado communities regulate data centers, evaluate potential effects on electricity and water supplies, coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and utility providers, and account for anticipated state legislation.

Grand Junction City Manager Mike Bennett said the city has received questions from concerned residents about data centers. A local-real estate professional also contacted the city about its regulations, but Bennett said the inquiry did not involve a serious application.

“Our idea would be to bring through to council a moratorium for a year period on data centers in a way that doesn’t prevent inadvertently other types of developments, like, let’s say, a bank wants to expand their … IT room or something to that degree,” Bennett said, adding those are not the same as large data centers that either use a lot of electricity or water.

“There are no pending applications, there are no known applications coming in,” Bennett said.

The city’s land-use code does not specifically designate or regulate data centers. Staff said that lack of clarity could create uncertainty about whether a proposed facility should be approved, denied or classified as another commercial use.

During the moratorium, city staff would review best practices and develop standards addressing different types of data centers and their potential demands on local resources. Bennett noted that if the city received an application for a large data center before clear regulations were adopted, it could be difficult for officials to evaluate and process the proposal.

Bennett said the city intends to work with Mesa County, neighboring communities, water providers and electricity providers, because a facility outside Grand Junction could still affect regional resources.

Database lists potential project

Questions about potential local interest surfaced after Mesa County resident Thom Copp posted on social media about an entry in the ConstructConnect Project Intelligence database.

The database lists “Grand Junction Data Centers New Construction,” project No. 5406415. It describes a privately funded, $90 million project involving site work, paving and construction of a 44,765-square-foot, one-story data-center facility.

The listing was updated May 13, 2026. It includes an April 8, 2024, event start date. It says completed plans call for the facility, but it also says the plans and specifications are not publicly available.

The address, developer and contacts are available only to subscribers. The public entry lists the location as “Redacted Address, Grand Junction, CO.” The number 81506 appears in the page’s URL, but the listing does not display a ZIP code or establish whether the site is inside city limits.

When asked about the project, Mesa County spokesperson Stephanie Reecy said the county has no information about the ConstructConnect listing. The Business Times also asked Grand Junction whether city officials were aware of the listing or had discussed the project with anyone connected to it. The city had not responded by the time the story went to press.