Salida CO 12-month data center moratorium Ord. 2026-19
Salida, Colorado — Ordinance 2026-19 Imposes a 12-Month Data Center Moratorium, Passed Unanimously Over a Councilmember's Question Whether Twelve Months Was Too Long (2026)
Salida, CO · City of Salida, Colo. Ordinance 2026-19 — 12-month data center moratorium (2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- September 1, 2027
- Applies to
- Developers seeking data center approvals in Salida during the 12-month moratorium
- Enforced by
- City of Salida / Salida City Council; Salida Land Use Code administration
Salida City Council passed ORDINANCE 2026-19 imposing a TWELVE-MONTH moratorium on data centers, unanimously, taken up in Unfinished Business alongside an unrelated ordinance on council removal and sanctions procedures. The detail worth preserving is the dissent that wasn't. During discussion, council member SUZANNE FONTANA QUESTIONED WHETHER TWELVE MONTHS WAS 'TOO LONG' for a moratorium on dealing with data centers in the Salida Land Use Code — and then the ordinance passed unanimously anyway. That direction of challenge is unusual in this record. Across this dataset the pressure on councils runs almost entirely the other way: residents packing chambers demanding longer pauses, a New Mexico county converting a non-binding resolution into an eighteen-month moratorium on the floor after an hour of public comment, a Minnesota county doubling its term from six months to twelve after testimony. A councilmember asking whether twelve months is excessive is the counterweight, and it is worth recording that the question was raised inside a body that then voted for it anyway. Salida is a small city in Chaffee County in central Colorado. The moratorium's purpose is to allow the city to address data centers in the Salida Land Use Code, which is the same drafting-window rationale most instruments here rest on.
Who is protected: Salida, Colorado residents in Chaffee County
Legal detail
City of Salida, Colo. (Chaffee County) — ORDINANCE 2026-19, imposing a 12-MONTH MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS, PASSED UNANIMOUSLY in Unfinished Business alongside Ordinance 2026-20 (clarifying removal and sanctions procedures for members of City Council, an unrelated measure). PURPOSE: to allow the city to address data centers in the SALIDA LAND USE CODE. THE RECORDED OBJECTION IS THE NOTABLE CONTENT: during discussion, council member SUZANNE FONTANA QUESTIONED WHETHER 12 MONTHS WAS 'TOO LONG'. THE DIRECTION OF THAT CHALLENGE IS RARE IN THIS DATASET. The documented pressure on local bodies runs overwhelmingly toward LONGER pauses: Sierra County NM 18-month data center moratorium (2026) (commissioners amended a non-binding opposition resolution into an 18-month binding moratorium on the floor after more than an hour of public comment), Pine County MN 12-month data center moratorium (2026) (six months doubled to twelve after testimony overwhelmingly called for longer), Champaign County IL one-year data center moratorium (2026) (100+ residents with 'Approve the Moratorium' signs), Canton OH data center zoning chapter (2026) (50+ speakers in unanimous opposition to data centers). A councilmember questioning whether a term is EXCESSIVE, inside a body that then adopts it unanimously, is the counterweight and is recorded for that reason. It also aligns with the durability concern officials have raised elsewhere \u2014 Henderson NV rejects data center moratorium, pursues code changes (2026) (a city attorney: moratoriums defensible 12 to 18 months before permanent code changes are required) and Bellevue WI 12-month data center moratorium (2026) ('Moratoriums are not meant to be a tool to prohibit something forever') \u2014 though Fontana's stated basis is not reported. PROCEDURAL NOTE: taken up in UNFINISHED BUSINESS, indicating a prior reading or continuance. COLORADO COHORT: Lochbuie CO data center moratorium (2026), Aurora CO resolution directing data center regulations, moratorium rejected (2026), Fremont County CO emergency data center moratorium (2026) and Denver Data Center Moratorium; local governments across Colorado enacted data center moratoriums through 2026.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Salida, CO |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | September 1, 2026 |
| Citation | City of Salida, Colo. Ordinance 2026-19 — 12-month data center moratorium (2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center approvals are paused for 12 months |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Salida City Council Approves Moratorium on Data Centers, Pool Repairs, County SWAT Team IGA Terminated — Ark Valley Voice |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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