To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Katherine Smith, Acting Director, Public Works & Development
Prepared By:
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Raye Fields, Planner II, Public Works & Development; Zach Blazek, Senior Planner, Public Works & Development
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presenter
Presenter: Raye Fields, Planner II, Public Works & Development; Zach Blazek, Senior Planner, Public Works & Development
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Subject:
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1:30 PM *Data Center Environmental & Regulatory Follow-up Discussion for Potential Land Development Code Updates
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff is seeking direction from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) concerning potential updates to the Land Development Code (LDC) related to data center regulations.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Sustainable Growth and Infrastructure - Support environmentally responsible development and energy efficiency in county operations.
Background and Discussion: Data centers have been increasingly in the public eye recently, and staff have received inquiries about where our land development regulations land on this matter. A data center is a centralized physical facility or virtual environment designed to house, manage, process, and distribute large amounts of critical data and applications. Jurisdictions across the state of Colorado are in the process of developing policies surrounding data centers or have implemented policies already.
The Arapahoe County Land Development Code (LDC) does not define “data center”, nor is “data center” listed in the Permitted Use Table. Per Section 3-1.2, Unlisted Uses, “[u]ses not specifically listed in the Permitted Use Table or reasonably similar to those uses listed in any particular zone district shall be deemed excluded from the particular zone district.” Currently, data centers do not fit into any category of use in the LDC, and are not listed in a particular zone district; therefore they are not permitted as a standalone use in Unincorporated Arapahoe County. This does not include accessory server rooms or information technology infrastructure incidental or subordinate to a permitted principal use.
Attached is a matrix compiling data center policies of nearby jurisdictions. This matrix includes city and county governments which do the following:
- permit data centers outright in certain zone districts
- permit data centers with conditional, limited, and/or special use processes, and/or with use-specific standards
- do not permit data centers though temporary moratoriums and/or prohibitions.
At their September 22, 2026, study session on this topic, the BOCC requested additional information on noise, air quality, energy consumption, and water use related to data centers. Below is a summary of what will be discussed in the study session in greater detail to obtain the BOCC’s guidance and input on each topic. Additionally, the attached matrix summarizes how other communities have addressed these topics.
Noise
The primary sources of noise from data centers are generators, chillers, cooling towers, air handling units, and internal server fans. To mitigate the effects of noise from data centers on surrounding properties, the BOCC may consider implementing use-specific standards for data centers which require larger setbacks and/or decibel limits at property lines. Noise can additionally be mitigated by requiring brick or similar screen walls around HVAC equipment and generators, and through additional landscaping.
Air quality
Data center developments are subject to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Air Pollution Control Division standards. CDPHE requires an Air Pollutant Emission Notice (APEN) for these developments, which involves calculating and monitoring emissions, and reporting conditions to the state on an annual basis. Arapahoe County could consider requiring lower emissions generators or battery backup systems to help reduce air quality impacts.
Energy consumption
Developments in Arapahoe County are required to supply will-serve documentation from energy providers. The BOCC may consider implementing use-specific standards for data centers which set limits on peak electrical demand, or allow administrative review for data centers with less electricity usage. In jurisdictions across Colorado that have implemented standards for data centers, these limits range widely, and there isn’t guidance on what the best practice is. Some jurisdictions allow data centers only as accessory uses no greater than 75 kW (Boulder County), compared to mid- sized data centers up to 50 mW (Weld County), and up to 100 mW hyperscale data centers (City of Longmont). The City of Aurora provides an administrative review process for data centers using less than 25 mW and requires public hearings for data centers 25 mW or larger. Some jurisdictions do not limit peak electrical demand for data centers (Colorado Springs).
Data centers are rated on their full load energy use. A 50 MW data center requires 50 MW of energy to operate. If that data center operates at its full capacity of 50 MW for an entire year (8,760 hours), it would use 438,000 Megawatt-hours (MWh). One website estimates that the average Colorado household uses 10,920 kWh annually, or 10.92 MWh (1 MWh = 1,000 kWh). Industrial users generally use more electricity than residential. As an example, Left Hand Brewing estimates that they use 28 kWh per barrel brewed. Based on 2016 production of 78,000 barrels, that’s 2,184,000 kWh or 2,184 MWh. The 50 MW data center example could use as much electricity as approximately 40,000 households or 200 Left Hand-sized breweries.
According to Xcel Energy, Colorado’s regulatory environment means that current ratepayers do not see increased bills; large users such as data centers must pay for their own system upgrades and consumption.
Water use
Developments in Arapahoe County are required to supply will-serve documentation from water providers, or demonstrate that they have adequate adjudicated water rights for their use if they propose well water. A use that cannot adequately supply water for their development will not meet approval criteria. The BOCC may consider implementing use-specific standards in the interest of saving water; for example, closed loop cooling systems use less water than open loop systems. As an additional example, the City of Aurora recently implemented a prohibition on new evaporative cooling systems.
Cheyenne, Wyoming is a hub for data center development, and they now require closed loop cooling systems. Per the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities, closed loop cooling systems require approximately 400,000 gallons of water, with system flushes every three years. Aurora Water publishes recommended household water use; one calculation example for a family of four was 11,549 gallons per month, or 138,588 gallons per year.
Requests for staff direction:
Staff is seeking direction from the BOCC regarding the permitting, or non-permitting of data centers in Unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Options to consider:
1. Direct staff to continue with the administration of current policy.
With this option, staff will not return with additional research or changes to the Land Development Code, and data centers will remain an unpermitted use in Arapahoe County.
2. Direct staff to return with changes to the Land Development Code including creation of a definition(s) for “data center” in LDC 7-2 Definitions and establishing data centers as a prohibited use in all zone districts.
With this option, staff will return with a definition of “data center” and changes to the use table, specifically prohibiting future data center development in Arapahoe County.
3. Direct staff to return with changes to the Land Development Code including creation of a definition(s) for “data center” in LDC 7-2 Definitions; establishing data center as a permitted and/or use by special review in specific zone districts; and establishing use specific standards or restrictions for data centers.
With this option, staff will return with additional research and proposed changes to the Land Development Code, permitting data centers with use specific standards. This could include multiple definitions for a variety of permitted or special uses dependent on factors such as size, energy capacity, and/or zone district. Use specific standards could be implemented based on proximity to residential or other identified land uses (for example schools), cooling system design, noise generation, screen wall requirements, urban heat island effect, architectural design, etc.
Staff additionally requests direction on any consideration for a public input process.
Alternatives: N/A
Fiscal Impact: No fiscal impacts are identified other than staff time.
Alignment with Strategic Implementation Strategies: N/A
Staff Recommendation: N/A; staff is seeking direction on a preferred path for data center regulation.
Concurrence: N/A