Data center opponents in Weld County gather 30K signatures in two weeks to stop development

WELD COUNTY, Colo. — Opponents of a controversial data center in Weld County say they have gotten enough petition signatures to put the project before a public vote.

Organizers with Protect Our Water and Energy Resources (POWER) announced this week that they had gathered more than 30,000 signatures in two weeks for two petitions aiming to restrict data center development.

The first petition would put the county’s approval of the 41-acre Global AI data center, located just outside of Windsor, to a referendum. The second petition is a citizen initiative which would require all future data center development and expansion to secure voter approval via a county-wide election, in addition to meeting existing county and state standards. 

So far, each petition has roughly 15,000 signatures. The county must verify at least 9,120 signatures, or 5% of the total number of voters who participated in the 2024 general election, to deem the petitions sufficient. 

The citizen initiative would then qualify for a special election, while the referendum would first go before the board of county commissioners who would choose to either reverse Global AI’s approval or send the resolution to a county-wide vote alongside the citizen initiative in a special election.

Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said the county hasn’t had a special election “in decades,” adding that it could cost between $650,000 and $750,000, based on analysis of general election costs. The City of Greeley held a special election last year over the unpopular Cascadia project, which cost roughly $350,000 according to the city’s website.

The petition deadline for the general election was July 6, roughly two months before Weld county commissioners approved Global AI’s Use by Special Review (USR) application.

The county’s two public hearings on Global AI’s plan drew hours of public comment opposing the project over concerns like transparency, energy use and the environment. Between the two hearings, almost 60 people spoke against the data center, while just three supported it, during public comment.

Despite public pushback, county commissioners unanimously approved Global AI’s permit on Sept. 9. 

Windsor resident Kurt Gulder, who’s lived in Weld County for 11 years, went out of his way to sign the petitions. 

“All they see is the big shiny tax dollars that are supposedly going to be coming in from this project,” Gulder said of the commissioners. “We couldn't wait to go out and sign up.”

Gulder and his wife Jeanette, who live just over a mile from the Global AI site, are worried about the project’s environmental impacts. After hearing about the petitions on social media, they made the trek to the King Soopers parking lot in Windsor to sign both petitions last week. 

The petition campaign is organized by POWER, an issue committee backed by Broe Real Estate. 

Broe owns the Great Western Industrial Park, which neighbors the site that Global AI is currently developing. The developer sued Weld County on Tuesday according to BizWest, claiming county commissioners improperly handled Global AI’s USR permitting application.

POWER hired three signature-gathering contractors and also sent postcards to Weld County residents encouraging them to sign the petitions, and residents have also spread the word through word of mouth and social media.

“Everybody and their moms were saying, ‘We don’t want this,’” said POWER organizer and lifelong Greeley resident Patricia Garcia-Nelson. “As citizens and residents of the county, this is something that we could do.”

Garcia-Nelson initially wanted to pursue a moratorium, but, given Weld County’s conservative lean, decided to work with POWER to push for a referendum and future popular voting requirements instead.

POWER is planning to submit the petitions to the county next week. But even if both meet the signature threshold, county officials say they could face legal challenges.

“I just see that being extremely problematic in a home rule-chartered county that followed its due process,” Weld County Planning Director David Eisenbraun said of the petitions, emphasizing that Global AI had already gone through the proper channels and secured county approval. “To unwind that feels like quite a feat to try and do just with one ballot initiative.”

Koppes confirmed that the County Clerk’s office does not have any role in evaluating a proposed measure’s legal standing.

Global AI did not comment on whether they plan to legally challenge the measures should they reach the ballot. Company spokesperson William Allison offered a statement by email, saying, “Global AI remains fully committed to responsibly developing its project and working constructively with community members, business and government leaders, and other stakeholders to create new value for Weld County.”

County Planning Manager Angela Snyder, who worked closely with Global AI on their permit application, said there are other avenues available to residents who are unhappy with the county commissioners’ decision to approve Global AI’s permit.

“We have a built-in process for that,” Snyder said, referring to elections and term limits. “If you want change, there’s a way to do it through the system.”