Project Taurus data center — Colorado Springs, Colo. — Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-2 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, to postpone a final decision on Project Taurus—a proposed 50-megawatt AI data center by California-based Raeden at a former chip plant near Garden of the Gods Road and Centennial Boulevard—until April 13, 2027. The delay gives Raeden time to work with Colorado Springs Utilities on a large-load contract and lets the city begin workshopping rules for future data centers, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.
Councilmembers Kimberly Gold and Nancy Henjum voted against postponement. Both said they were ready to vote that night and would have voted no on the project. Councilmember Roland Rainey proposed the delay, saying residents called for accountability, rules, and standards—not only for this applicant but for data centers generally.
What Project Taurus would change
Raeden’s plan would rework a former computer-chip manufacturing facility near Garden of the Gods Road and Centennial Boulevard into a 50 MW data center. Neighbors and appellants argued the project sits too close to established homes and park amenities and raises unresolved questions about water use, electric load, environmental effects, and low-frequency noise that the city does not currently regulate.
The primary appeal came from Integrity Matters and residents of the Chelsea Glen neighborhood closest to the site. Lead appellant Kate Kent called postponement the second-best outcome after an immediate denial, saying it gives the city time to decide whether it is ready for this class of project.
City planning history is part of the fight: an administrative approval in 2000 left later changes eligible for staff-level review, and planning staff approved an initial development plan in May. Appellants argued the modification was too significant for that path. Henjum stressed that council must follow the code it adopted.
Public comment and political timing
Council heard from 120 speakers. Sign-ups skewed heavily against the project: 126 people signed to speak in opposition versus 22 in support, the Gazette reported. Concerns clustered around water, power demand, low-frequency noise, and proximity to neighborhoods and a major park.
Council rejected a bid to move the delay only to March 5. April 13 falls one week after the next City Council elections—four seats are on the ballot—and about a week before new members are typically sworn in. A Magellan Strategies poll released Sept. 13 found 86% of Colorado respondents oppose data centers near their neighborhoods.
A public meeting disruption later led to four arrests; Never Late News notes that fact without graphic detail. Kent said those involved did not appear affiliated with the official appeal group.
Why this matters
Postponement is not approval and not denial. It freezes a high-stakes land-use decision while Raeden and Colorado Springs Utilities work on a large-load contract and the city starts writing data-center rules residents say arrived late. For Chelsea Glen and nearby households, the open issues are practical: water, power cost allocation, and low-frequency noise existing codes may not capture.
The April 13, 2027 date also sits next to a council election cycle, so the next hearing may involve a partly new board—raising the stakes of standards that could outlast any single applicant. Similar stakes appear in Seattle’s temporary MHA fee holiday proposal and Minneapolis Public Schools’ closure planning.
How Never Late News reported this
Never Late News relied on Colorado Springs Gazette reporting by Brennen Kauffman and Alex Edwards (Sept. 17, 2026) for the postponement, date, Raeden proposal, site location, opposition, speaker counts, appeal, poll figures, utilities and rules rationale, and the brief factual note about arrests. Primary source: the Gazette’s Project Taurus postponement report.
Corrections and reader feedback
If council later changes the hearing date, load figures, or applicant details, email editor@neverlatenews.com with a primary source. Never Late News corrects factual errors. This report is by Mike Joe.