Larimer County has released draft regulations that would prohibit hyperscale data centers entirely and impose detailed standards on any smaller facilities that might be built in unincorporated parts of the county.

A county with no proposals is still writing strict rules

Power consumption would be capped at 30 megawatts, a threshold that excludes the massive campuses proposed or under construction in states such as Utah and Wyoming.

The proposed land use code amendments would permit data centers only in the county's Industrial Heavy and Industrial Light zone districts.

Among the requirements: any facility would need to draw 80% of its power from renewable sources, and evaporative cooling systems, which convert water to vapor to cool server rooms, would be banned. Developers could instead use a closed-loop cooling setup or what the draft calls an "equally efficient system."

Sizing up the definitions

Under the draft, a data center is defined as one or more buildings designed or primarily used for the storage, management, processing and/or transmission of digital data, housing computers, network equipment, systems, servers, appliances and other operational components.

A facility using 1 to 10 megawatts at peak demand would be classified as a small data center, one drawing 10 to 30 megawatts as a large data center, and anything beyond 30 megawatts as hyperscale.

County staff supported allowing smaller-scale operations because they can deliver critical services tied to emergency dispatch, electrical grids, cellular networks, internet infrastructure, law enforcement networks and telehealth.

What applicants would need to show

A developer seeking approval would have to file an air quality mitigation plan describing how negative effects on air quality would be addressed. Noise studies would be required, with the project expected to comply with county noise limits, and the review would also weigh odors, visibility and vibrations.

Submittals would additionally need to cover power availability, water supply and wastewater management plans, among other details.

Every proposal would pass through a special data center review process assessing impacts on public health, safety, welfare, the environment, historic places and publicly conserved lands.

Where facilities could and could not go

The industrial zone districts open to data centers sit on the edges of Fort Collins and Loveland city limits, and some of those zones adjoin residential areas. Near Fort Collins, eligible parcels include land northwest of Trilby Road and Taft Hill Road — where the county's south landfill currently operates, plus parcels near the former Downtown Airport north of Mulberry Street and along Vine Drive. Around Loveland, eligible parcels are scattered across the southern half of the city just outside city limits.

Even within the zones, a data center would have to be at least 1,000 feet from residential buildings or lots, schools, medical facilities, senior living facilities, daycare centers, trails, parks, conserved lands and anywhere designated as a disproportionately impacted community.

A developer eyeing land outside the two districts would first need a rezoning, which requires backing from both the county planning commission and the county commissioners and must fit the county's comprehensive plan.

County staff say that process can take a year or longer.

Rules stop at city lines, but utilities still have a say

The regulations would govern only projects in unincorporated Larimer County. Cities and towns will enforce their own data center rules where they exist, and Fort Collins, Loveland, and Berthoud are all drafting regulations of their own. Although the county is not itself a power provider, any data center would still be bound by the requirements of the utility supplying its electricity.

Platte River Power Authority, for instance, has a policy ensuring large-load customers pay their own way, defining a large-load customer as one using 10 megawatts or more.

Public sentiment and the road to a vote

No formal data center proposals are pending in Larimer County, thanks to a six-month moratorium put in place while the land use code is updated to address the facilities.

In a county survey conducted earlier this year, 94% of respondents said they did not want any data center allowed at all. Feedback on the draft will be accepted through Nov. 24, with a revised draft to be published by Dec. 9.

The Larimer County Planning Commission will take up the changes on Dec. 16, and the county commissioners are scheduled to vote at a Jan. 11 land use hearing.

Residents can review the draft and submit comments. The county's move arrives as large-scale data center construction presses forward elsewhere in the country, including a USD 1 billion, 520-acre facility underway in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, being built for Meta, the trillion-dollar company that owns Facebook and Instagram.