Brandon Leuallen, The Business Times

The Mesa County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium on data-center projects during its Sept. 29 public hearing.

The moratorium took effect immediately.

The county said in a news release it has been working on updates to its land-development code, because data-center facilities are not addressed in the old land-use code, which was last updated in 2020.

While work on the land-development code continues, the moratorium temporarily pauses the acceptance, processing and approval of land-use applications for data-center facilities in unincorporated Mesa County, the news release said.

The moratorium supersedes the current guidelines and gives county staff time to continue updating other parts of the land-development code while gathering public feedback and input on data-center regulation.

The county said it has no pending applications for data-center projects.

Commissioner Bobbie Daniel said public feedback on the county’s broader Land Development Code update demonstrated that data centers needed a separate discussion.

“And we realized this isn’t something that can be quickly fixed and put in the land development code,” she said. “This needs to be its own separate conversation.”

Community Development Director Greg Moberg said the current code lacks a data-center definition and standards addressing the facilities’ distinct operations. The proposed update will define data centers and restrict them to industrial zones, he said, but it will not adequately address electrical demand, water use, standby equipment, mechanical noise and other impacts.

The moratorium took effect upon adoption and lasts 12 months, but commissioners can end it sooner after adopting regulations or extend it following a public hearing.

According to the resolution presented to commissioners, covered facilities have a combined designed or nameplate electrical demand of at least one megawatt. Accessory server rooms serving another principal use and certain government-operated facilities are excluded. Applications that the county determined were complete before adoption are also exempt.

Daniel said she sought community feedback through a September op-ed about the code update, asking residents what regulations they wanted for data centers, battery storage and other uses to look like.

Residents submitted concerns about several technologies, but data centers became the largest issue, she said.

Data centers and Flock license-plate readers have drawn substantial public feedback recently, but commissioners’ authority differs on the two issues. Commissioners can regulate whether and where data centers are allowed in unincorporated Mesa County. Decisions about the Sheriff’s Office’s use of Flock and other license-plate readers belong to the independently elected sheriff. Mesa County voters will elect a sheriff Nov. 3.

Daniel welcomed the turnout at the hearing, particularly younger residents concerned about their future.

She said self government is not on autopilot. “It takes you guys being here, and I love that,” she said.

She pointed to the county’s previous solar moratorium as an example of how public participation can shape regulations. During that process, staff collected contact information from interested residents, held open houses and sought stakeholder feedback on drafts.

The resulting amendment did not satisfy everyone, Daniel said, but residents were involved in developing it. She said data-center regulations likely would take longer than the solar process.

Daniel said land-use rules should provide a consistent basis for evaluating applications and balancing the interests of property owners.

“We needed to just kind of wrap our heads around what this looks like for folks, because everybody’s property rights matters, whether you’re the neighbor or whether you’re trying to develop your property,” she said of the solar process.

Moberg suggested additional public engagement for data centers, potentially including open houses to gather input earlier in drafting regulations.

Daniel encouraged residents to continue submitting comments to Moberg.

“Tell us exactly how you want to proceed,” she said.

She also emphasized jurisdictional boundaries. The county regulates land use in unincorporated areas, while municipalities make their own decisions.

At the hearing, Moberg said Grand Junction was considering a moratorium and had expressed interest in aligning city and county standards.

Commissioner JJ Fletcher emphasized protecting drinking and agricultural water and maintaining reliable electricity, describing conversations with utilities about potential grid impacts.

The resolution directs staff to develop standards addressing electricity and water demand, cooling, noise, generators, battery storage, lighting, transportation, emergency response and eventual site restoration.

Staff must coordinate with municipalities, utilities and fire districts and report to commissioners within 90 days.

The resolution leaves undecided whether data centers ultimately should be permitted, conditionally permitted or prohibited in particular zones.

“It needs to be thoughtful,” Daniel said. “We need to have our community voices there at the table.”