Colorado Data Center Dispute Highlights Gap in Planning Rules and Community Oversight

A proposal to build what would be Colorado’s largest data centre on a vacant lot in Aurora has exposed a gap in local planning rules that allows major industrial developments to proceed without a public hearing, even when they sit next to new housing developments and in communities already burdened by pollution.

The Trident Data Centre, proposed by Vantage Data Centers Management Company LLC, would cover 143 acres and comprise two buildings totalling 861,866 square feet. At full buildout, the facility would require about 500 megawatts of electrical demand, roughly 11 times the power used by Denver International Airport eight miles to the north. The site is in an industrial zone where data centres are a permitted use, meaning city staff can approve the project administratively without a planning commission or city council vote.

Por que importa

For London readers tracking the tension between digital infrastructure and urban communities, the Aurora case mirrors debates that have surfaced in boroughs across the capital, where data centre proposals have prompted questions about planning classification, environmental impact and the limits of public consultation.

What the proposal means for residents
The vacant lot sits across from a housing development under construction on a former 800-acre dryland farm that markets itself on its connection to nature. The area is in a census block that state records show is disproportionately impacted by pollution, with residents exposed to more toxic air pollutants than 98 per cent of Colorado’s census tracts and with higher hospitalisation rates for asthma than 96 per cent of such areas. About two-thirds of residents in this part of Aurora struggle with housing costs and are people of colour.

Contexto

The Trident proposal also includes 28 emergency diesel backup generators across the two planned buildings. The generators would be located in a region that the American Lung Association ranks eighth worst out of 226 metropolitan areas for high ozone days. State officials have issued air quality warnings for more than two-thirds of this year’s ozone season, advising residents with respiratory conditions, young children and older adults to stay indoors.

Planning rules and the public hearing gap
The core of the dispute lies in how data centres are classified under local zoning codes. In Aurora, as in many Colorado cities, data centres are a permitted use in industrial zones, meaning they can be approved administratively as long as no major adjustments are requested. The city confirmed that the Trident proposal does not meet the criteria for a neighbourhood meeting.

Que sigue

State officials at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have suggested that Vantage should “strongly consider” holding a community meeting before applying for a construction permit. In an Environmental Justice Summary, regulators wrote that the Air Pollution Control Division expects the company to hold at least one community meeting before submitting the permit application.

Vantage has said the project is in early planning stages and that it is beginning to reach out to elected officials and community leaders. The company plans to launch a “sentiment survey” to understand community needs.

This administrative approval process mirrors one used in Denver for a CoreSite data centre in Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, one of the most polluted zip codes in the US. That facility sits yards from a senior living centre, an affordable housing complex and a health clinic. Under pressure from residents, the Denver City Council voted in May to impose a moratorium on data centre developments for at least a year while it considers new rules.

Broader backlash and regulatory response
The Aurora and Denver cases are part of a wider pattern across the US. About 379 jurisdictions from Maine to Utah to Washington have adopted moratoriums on data centres or barred them outright. Lawmakers in 16 states have considered legislation to restrict such developments. The issue has become a political talking point in the run-up to the November midterms, drawing opposition from both sides of the aisle.

The rapid growth of data centre capacity is driving the backlash. US data centre capacity reached 118 gigawatts in July 2026, a 52 per cent upward revision from the December 2025 forecast, according to BloombergNEF. Analysts expect facilities hosting about 194 gigawatts to be online by 2035, an 83 per cent upward revision. The industry used about 4.4 per cent of US electricity in 2023, a share that could triple by 2028.

Technology companies have argued that the boom brings jobs and tax revenue, estimating $27 billion in potential state and local tax revenue over the next decade. But a May Gallup poll found that seven in 10 Americans do not want data centres in their communities, citing concerns about emissions, land and water use, and rising electricity rates.

In Colorado, state legislators have struggled to pass bills addressing data centre regulation. Two measures introduced in the spring 2026 legislative session, one offering incentives for data centre development and another requiring renewable energy use, public hearings and community benefit agreements, both died in committee.

Local council response and next steps
Aurora City Councilmember Amy Wiles, who represents the ward containing the Trident site, has held a town hall meeting and invited representatives from Vantage and Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electric utility. She described the community response as “overwhelming” opposition to data centres. The council voted against a six-month moratorium Wiles introduced in August but approved a resolution directing the city manager to bring back measures regulating water use and establishing buffer zones for data centres near neighbourhoods.

Councilmembers agreed to ban cooling technologies that require tens of thousands of gallons of water each day, requiring companies to use closed-loop chillers instead. The Trident facility would use such technology, though planning documents show one building would still require 800,000 gallons initially.

The Trident proposal is the latest and largest in a series of data centre developments in Aurora. A 160-megawatt, three-building facility by QTS is already under construction about four miles south of the Trident site, also in a census block disproportionately impacted by pollution.

What this means for urban governance elsewhere
For London planners and urbanists, the Colorado dispute illustrates how the classification of data centres in zoning codes can sideline public engagement, even when facilities are proposed adjacent to housing and in communities with existing environmental burdens. The question of whether data centres should be treated as routine industrial uses or as major infrastructure requiring full planning committee scrutiny is one that has surfaced in several London boroughs as demand for digital infrastructure grows.

The Aurora case also highlights the tension between economic development arguments and community concerns about pollution, water use and grid capacity. The outcome of the city’s regulatory review, due within 30 days of the council resolution, will be watched by other municipalities considering how to balance data centre growth with community protections.

Source: Planetizen News / Capital & Main, “Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing”, https://www.planetizen.com/news/2026/09/138432-colorados-largest-data-center-could-rise-next-homes-without-public-hearing