Moffat County Weighs Data Center Moratorium Amid Zoning Gaps

Steamboat Springs —Candace Miller sat in the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting room on Aug. 5. A resident asked if the new data center review process was her idea. Miller didn’t hesitate.

“It was my idea,” she said.

She added that Moffat County needed to be prepared “if this comes our way.” That phrase stuck. It implied inevitability. It suggested the data center wasn’t a proposal; it was a destination.

The Craig Daily Press reported that Miller had already met with representatives of data center companies before that Aug. 5 meeting. Those meetings weren’t on the public record. Miller hasn’t responded to a request for comment sent on Aug. 7. Silence is a form of answer.

Now, the Board of County Commissioners faces the same question. On Sept. 8, they delayed a decision on a proposed moratorium. They won’t vote until Oct. 13. They want more input. They want to see the crowd.

The choice is between a six-month pause or a 12-month pause. Both options stop the county from accepting applications for data centers in unincorporated areas. The Planning Commission leans toward six months. They worry a longer pause signals hesitation to investors. Miller agrees. She told commissioners the zoning rules can be written in half a year.

“We’re not starting square one with a blank sheet of paper in front of us right now,” Miller said.

That’s the official line. But the public isn’t buying it. At the Sept. 8 meeting, residents shouted about noise, heat, and water usage. They talked about the Trapper Reborn project. Brian Dunn, CEO of Pure-Green Colorado, said his group signed a letter of intent to buy Trapper Mining Inc. He called Trapper Fabrication and Assembly the first tenant.

Dunn spoke about jobs. He spoke about growth. He didn’t mention the moratorium. He didn’t mention the zoning gap. He talked about the future.

The commissioners are listening. They are also waiting. They are weighing the risk of stopping work against the risk of letting it run. They are looking at the calendar. They are looking at the crowd.

The short version: The county doesn’t have the rules yet. The developers have the plans. The public has the fear. The commissioners have the clock.

Miller knows the timeline. She set it. Now she watches the board decide if her timeline holds.

If the moratorium passes, the clock starts. If it fails, the applications pile up. Either way, the data center is coming. The only question is when the county stops pretending otherwise.