The Larimer County, CO, moratorium on acceptance for any new data centers is set to expire AUG. 25th 2026. This prevents all pre-submittal activities for developers looking to build on county land, and now that door is about to be re-opened. 

According to the U.S. drought monitor, almost 50% of Larimer County as of 07/23/26 is under EXTREME DROUGHT.  43% of our water is sourced from the Colorado River on the Western Slope, one  of the most heavily drought affected regions in the world. It would be greatly irresponsible at this time of water uncertainty to reconsider any restrictions on AI data centers, which can consume between 1 million and 5 million gallons of water per day at most.

Data centers also creates massive air, noise, and light pollution. Particularly gas-powered data centers, emit pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, methane, volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter.  Noise levels go beyond 85 decibels, which is beyond what is considered harmful for life. These massive buildings also offer no cultural value, and may be an unsightly obstruction to the natural beauty of the front range.

Growing economic uncertainty around the AI bubble should be considered as well, as an estimated $489,000,000,000 of debt has been created by AI related projects in 2026 so far.

Considering the ecological factors, and potential risk to life these data centers present in their construction,  we call on the planning division to extend the moratorium indefinitely until such risk is no longer present.

Please sign today, and contact the Larimer County Planning division. By doing so you can help protect our community from data centers!