Residents have mixed feelings on Colorado Springs City Council’s decision to postpone Project Taurus appeals decision
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs City Council voted to table the vote on the controversial data center until April 13 of 2027. It brought an intense meeting, in which four people were arrested, to an uncertain end for some.
Police arrested four people after a scuffle broke out in the audience during the proceeding.
Many of the attendees at the meeting opposed the data center project and were there to speak out against the potential project. Although several council members urged an immediate vote on the project appeal, the council ultimately decided to postpone the vote until April.
The meeting grew tense when resident Wendy Mejorado began shouting through a megaphone after stating she was not allowed to speak.
“So I went to my seat and I got my megaphone and I spoke my mind. Once they saw the council, what I was doing, they were very, very not happy about that,” Mejorado said.
Mejorado was among four people arrested during the incident, according to CSPD. She was issued a summons and released.
RELATED COVERAGE: Four arrested after disturbance at city council data center meeting, CSPD says
Following that disruption, a scuffle broke out between audience members and police. Authorities arrested four individuals, including one man who was tased after police said he bit an officer.
KRDO13 had a photographer and crew on scene who caught the entire incident. During the meeting, there was also a heated moment between a councilor and audience member when an official was trying to speak.
Inside the chamber, several council members pressed for an immediate vote, with some stating they were prepared to vote in favor of the appeal.
City Councilman Dave Donelson urged the council to render a decision rather than postpone it.
“We did have enough information to vote to allow the applicant to get a decision,” Donelson said. “Then people can move on. This has been sucking a lot of oxygen out of the room for a while, and it will continue to do so.”
Donelson did end up voting to postpone the vote until April.
RELATED COVERAGE: Colorado Springs City Council postpones decision on Project Taurus appeals until April 2027
The decision to delay the vote drew mixed reactions from opponents of the proposed data center. Colorado Springs resident Nick Raven voiced dissatisfaction with the temporary postponement.
“It's like ordering four gorditas and getting one in the bag and you don't realize it until you get home,” Raven said. “And that's really what it is. It is. It's like, at least I got Taco Bell. But I didn't get enough.”
Mejorado also criticized the decision to wait.
“More than 90% of the people in that room were against it. So why postpone something nobody wants?” Mejorado said.
Despite the frustration, some attendees applauded the delay, noting that it buys time and citing council questions regarding noise levels from the facility. Colorado Springs resident Lindsey Ang said the extra time gives residents a chance to gather signatures for a moratorium.
“I know that a delay in the project will give us more time for a moratorium,” Ang said. “And I believe that Colorado Springs has the, amount of people that it takes to get all of those signatures.”
The Colorado Springs City Council will vote on the data center project in April, after the local elections.
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