Grand County commissioners voted Tuesday, June 9th to impose a moratorium on data centers, adopted wildfire building standards under formal objection to a state mandate, and sent proposed zoning amendments back to the planning commission after finding language errors — all at a June 9 regular session in Hot Sulphur Springs that ran past 2 p.m.
The data center moratorium, approved unanimously, sets the same expiration date as the county’s existing moratorium on commercial solar and wind energy installations: June 24, 2027. Community Development Director Kristen Manguso told commissioners the matching timeline will allow staff to bring forward a unified package of 1041 regulations covering all three uses. The county has no current regulations governing data centers, and Manguso noted a report of a large facility under consideration somewhere along the Grand-Routt county line — though neither county had confirmed the project. Commissioners said the moratorium was not an anti-technology stance but a necessary pause while the county determines what land use controls to put in place. A resident speaking during public comment argued that smaller, locally serving data centers could benefit county businesses and healthcare providers and questioned whether the moratorium was too broad. Commissioners directed staff to schedule a workshop examining whether zoning or 1041 regulation is the better framework and whether the moratorium’s scope needs adjustment.
The board then adopted the 2025 Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code with local amendments, but embedded a formal objection in the motion itself — describing the state’s risk classification methodology as insufficiently detailed and the adoption as an unfunded mandate. The code treats the entire county as Class 2 wildland-urban interface, requiring fire-resistant building materials on new construction and significant additions. Local amendments include an exemption from the exterior siding requirement for additions to homes under 2,500 square feet and for noncombustible exterior materials, and language making the county’s adopted wildfire hazard map subject to future revision rather than fixed. Chief Building Official Rob Wilson told commissioners the amendments reflect how the code needs to work in a mountain county, while acknowledging that provisions around window frame requirements will take time to implement consistently. A Grand Fire official who helped develop the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan confirmed the underlying map was built to international standards and can be updated as conditions change. A local wood products supplier told the board that chemically treated lumber meeting fire-resistance standards would qualify under the code and offered to work with building staff on compliance. A Granby resident argued the mapping was flawed from the start, saying her manufactured home is rated high wildfire risk on the code’s map while a separate assessment from the same contractor rates the property as low risk.
A third public hearing — on proposed amendments that would have expanded the definition of mini-storage warehouses and loosened an outdoor storage screening requirement in the Highway 34 corridor — was closed without action and sent back to staff. Several property owners along Highway 34 near Grand Lake argued the proposed change from “fully screened” to “adequately screened” was subjective and appeared tailored to accommodate a specific storage project under development within the Three Lakes Design Review Area. Staff acknowledged the tourist district screening amendment had not gone through the Planning Commission. The board directed staff to correct the language inconsistencies and republish the hearing notice; a Planning Commission review is expected in August.
EMS Chief Austin Wingate came to the board with three requests, all approved. The board authorized him to approve out-of-state wildland fire deployments without waiting for a weekly meeting when time-sensitive resource orders arrive. Wingate said he would limit out-of-state assignments when local fire danger is high and would notify commissioners and the county manager immediately upon any deployment. He also received authorization to apply for a nearly $700,000 Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to fund a crisis responder program, subject to legal and finance review before any award is accepted. The most significant request drew the most discussion: Wingate asked the board to formally oppose a proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule that would cap Medicaid supplemental reimbursements for ambulance agencies at Medicare allowable rates. He said the rule would cost Grand County EMS $196,716 annually in lost fee-for-service reimbursement. In rural counties where Medicaid accounts for 50 to 70 percent of calls, Wingate said, the rule could functionally end ambulance service in some communities, forcing departments like Grand County’s to cover greater distances. The board directed Wingate to file a public comment and said it would separately write to Colorado’s congressional delegation.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists Elissa Slezak and Jeromy Huntington presented an extended big game population update. The mule deer herd has recovered to roughly 10,700 animals — just above the lower bound of the management objective — after back-to-back severe winters in 2021-22 and 2022-23 drove fawn survival to historic lows. Fawn survival has now run above average for two consecutive years. Elk tell a more complicated story. The northern E8 herd sits at approximately 3,200 animals, just below its objective floor of 3,400. The E13 herd covering the Fraser Valley and surrounding areas has declined since 2018 and now sits at roughly 2,600 — about 35 percent below its lower management threshold of 4,000. CPW attributed the E13 decline to habitat lost to development, increased year-round recreation displacing elk from calving areas and migration routes, and the lingering effects of hard winters, and has made significant reductions in cow elk licenses for E13 in response. Mountain lions account for the majority of documented calf elk mortality across the county, consistent across three years of telemetry data. Chronic wasting disease prevalence in bucks runs 8 to 10 percent — above the management target of 5 percent — and CPW is maintaining harvest pressure on bucks to suppress spread. Black bear harvest was reduced after total human-caused mortality exceeded management thresholds for the third consecutive year. A commissioner who ranches in the county said he has observed changed elk migration patterns firsthand and acknowledged the difficulty of balancing recreation promotion against wildlife health.
Grand Foundation Executive Director Megan Ledin and Grants Manager Amy Hoover presented the spring Community Priorities Fund results and commissioners approved five grants totaling $122,330. Granby Recreation Department received $15,000 to subsidize after-school and summer day camp costs for families who cannot afford full tuition. Grandkids Learning Center received $45,110 — less than its $87,000 request — earmarked for a rent increase at one location and a transportation van, with remaining childcare needs directed toward a new countywide childcare wage fund. Mountain Family Center received $20,000 for emergency rental assistance tied to drought conditions and Winter Park Early Education Center received $29,000 to add a teacher to its infant room. Habitat for Humanity received $13,225 to cover unexpected wetlands and soil sampling costs for its 26-unit Granby project. Two applications scored below the committee’s threshold and were declined with guidance for the fall cycle.
Commissioner Merrit Linke announced he had been elected president-elect of Colorado Counties Inc. at the Keystone conference, a position he will assume in December. Commissioner Edward Raegner reported attending the inaugural meeting of the Winter Park Regional Transit Authority formation board and the ribbon-cutting for the Rocky Express bus line’s first run from Granby to Grand Lake. Commissioners also noted that House Bill 1239, a county code enforcement measure, had been signed by the governor — a legislative win commissioners said came after sustained opposition throughout the session.
The board also approved: board minutes from the previous session with a correction to a water volume figure; $445,488.38 in weekly payments across 64 disbursements, including $285,000 in open lands, rivers and trails grant disbursements to three nonprofits; a United Companies land use agreement for staging equipment along Highway 40 in the Fraser Flats area through October; the Cornerstone Mobile Concrete Batch Plant’s five-year special use permit renewal in Fraser; a $321,566 open lands, rivers and trails grant agreement with the Town of Fraser for trail rehabilitation; a Drowsy Water Ranch retail liquor license renewal; authorization for water attorney David Taussig to execute a stipulation in a Climax Molybdenum water court case protecting county rights and its 1041 permit; an early building closure July 30 for the employee appreciation picnic; and an ambulance standby fee waiver for the West Grand Booster Club’s Cliff Golf event during Kremling Days on June 20. Housing Authority Operations Manager Sheena Darland updated the agency’s online banking authorizations to add Commissioner Raegner and remove two former commissioners.
Treasurer Marcy Wheatley briefed commissioners on three new laws taking effect this year: Senate Bill 144 on treasurer’s deeds, effective June 1; House Bill 1120, which extends mobile home redemption periods from one year to three before tax lien sale; and House Bill 1098 updating the Public Trustee Act, effective July 1. Finance Director Alina Bell recognized accounting staff member Kathy Henderson with the Coin of Excellence for 19 years of county service. New employees and staff anniversaries were also recognized at the opening of the session.
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