Town of Lochbuie, Colorado, Approves Five-Year Data Center Moratorium

The town of Lochbuie in Colorado has enacted a five-year moratorium on data center development, a proactive measure taken despite the absence of any existing or pending projects in the municipality. The ordinance, passed by the town board on July 21, 2026, prohibits the processing or approval of any applications "for the establishment or expansion of data center facilities within the town of Lochbuie," according to official documents.

Lochbuie Mayor Jamie Jeffery told local media that no developers have approached the town about building a data center, describing the decision as forward-looking rather than reactive. "For now, our message is clear. You can go find a different small town to take advantage of, or some remote location that's going to allow you to put it in, but it's not going to be our town," Jeffery said in an interview with 9News.

The move comes as communities across Colorado and the broader United States grapple with the rapid expansion of data center construction, driven by surging demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. While data centers bring economic investment and job creation, they also raise concerns over water usage, energy consumption, and strain on local infrastructure, prompting some municipalities to pause approvals while they assess long-term impacts.

Lochbuie, located roughly 27 miles (43.4 kilometers) northwest of Denver, sits on the periphery of Colorado's largest data center hub. Denver itself has faced similar pressures: in May, the city council voted to approve a one-year data center moratorium in response to community backlash over proposed developments. Industry analysts note that such moratoriums could slow the pace of new capacity in the region, potentially affecting supply dynamics in a market that has seen significant investment from major cloud providers in recent years.

The five-year timeline in Lochbuie is notably longer than many similar measures, signaling a firm stance by local leadership. For neighboring towns and smaller municipalities, this could serve as a template for managing growth while maintaining local control over land use decisions. As the industry continues to expand into secondary markets, the balance between economic opportunity and community priorities is likely to remain a central point of tension for policymakers across the state.