The deadline to file an appeal against the application approval for the proposed data center on Garden of the Gods Road is Monday.

The developer wants to repurpose an existing tech building. Hundreds in the community want the project stopped.

News5's Bill Folsom has a closer look at the appeal process and has been following this story since the application for the center was proposed.

Recently, city planners determined that the applicant meets the requirements of zoning and city code for the project. Anyone who lives within 3 miles of the project site and has submitted comments during the review process can file an appeal.

The city has the forms online, and there is a $175 fee.

Appealing requires stating what part of the application violates the city code or the law. Appeals received by Monday at 5 will be reviewed to see if they qualify.

If they do, a hearing will be scheduled with the city's planning commission. If the planning commission denies the appeal, locals can appeal again to the city council following the planning commission's decision.

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The Colorado Springs Planning Department has given administrative approval to the proposed data center on Garden of the Gods Road.

"File an appeal. That's gonna happen," said one opponent recently.

Jason Green, the project applicant and developer, expected an appeal and wants to address it as soon as possible.

"Get this on the docket for the city council so that they can just review," said Green.

The next phase is the appeals process, and there are a lot of questions and misconceptions about how that process works.

A local expert with decades of experience in urban planning, who is on neither side of the data center application offers some perspective on what happens next.

"Something that becomes very apparent is land use is an issue that's able to stir up more emotion than any other issue that takes place in the community," said Les Gruen, president of Colorado Springs-based Urban Strategies.

Gruen is in the business of guiding people through land use issues. In his decades of leading Urban Strategies, he has been on both sides many times.

"It's a complicated issue and that's why I'm in business," said Gruen.

He explains that the process so far in the data center application is standard. There is basically a checklist the planning department follows and then either denies or gives administrative approval.

"Basically that allows for applications that check all the boxes that meet all the criteria for approval don't need to go through any further steps unless that's appealed," said Gruen.

The planning department did give administrative approval, and now opposition can appeal the decision. All it takes is one appeal. Multiple appeals are not looked at like votes.

Arguments in an appeal need to show fault in the application process.

"In the decision there was a law that was broken or something, some code section that was violated so if you can demonstrate those sorts of specific deficiencies, then you have a shot," said Gruen.

Zoning and private ownership are important factors. There is a legal consideration referred to as "use by right." It means that as long as a project complies with basic codes and standards, the property owner is entitled to a permit.

"The neighbors might not welcome that use as much as another use, but it's an allowable use, and it gets back to that notion of use by right," said Gruen.

Opposition needs to show how this project violates city code.

Appeals are restricted to people who live within a certain radius of the proposed project.

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The proposed Project Taurus data center has neighbors on one side and developers on the other. The latest in the battle is the city's planning department approving the data center's application. Neighbors are now looking to appeal.

The site is an industrial building once used for chip fabrication, then changing to a Bitcoin operation, and now there is a proposed repurpose as the Project Taurus data center.

"You feel like they're trying to push this through. I mean, they've already said they're on a fast track," said Ron Graham-Becker, who can see the site from his backyard.

Graham-Becker and other neighbors in the Chelsea Glen neighborhood just south of the building have concerns about the impacts on power infrastructure, the amount of water the center could need, and based on their experience with the Bitcoin operation, the noise.

"So when you have that precedent in this current environment with the data center, then you tend to be a little skeptical about what the planning department's doing," said Graham-Becker.

Neighbors want city planning to slow down. Many want the project stopped. Others want better guarantees of monitoring and penalties for violations.

City planning's vote to approve the project application reflects what data center developers have consistently stated.

Before the application approval, Jason Green, president of the development company Raeden, said, "We're 100% within our rights. The site is zoned and entitled for this use."

Developers have also added that they want neighbors to understand they are not being ignored.

"We want people to know that we really care about their concerns, that we are a good neighbor," said Green.

Despite several public information sessions explaining the project, neighbors remain unsatisfied.

"We have the option as neighbors and as people that are involved within a certain distance from the operation to file an appeal. That's going to happen," said Graham-Becker.

Project leaders expected the appeal and want to move forward.

"It goes to planning commission and then it goes to city council. So in terms of time, what we're actually asking for is that we just go from the planning department to the commission and then get this on the docket for the city council so that they can just review it and assess it," said Green.

June 22 is the deadline for anyone to file an appeal.

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The City of Colorado Springs Planning Department has officially approved the Development Plan Modification application for Project Taurus.

The project is a proposed data center off of Garden of the Gods Road, and has been the source of debate for community members since its announcement in April 2026.

You can read the approval documents here.

Watch: Project Taurus data center debate continues

The administrative approval has been granted to the company to use the existing industrial building and site improvements 21.96 acre site located at 1565 High Tech Way, which is located near the intersection of Garden of the Gods Road and Centennial Boulevard.

Now that the approval has been issued, which happened on Thursday, the deadline for an appeal request is 5 p.m. on Monday, June 22, 2026. Appeal request forms can be found here.

The city says that due to the public interest in the project, more details will be released next week.

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There is controversy on Colorado Springs' Westside over a computer data center proposed along Garden of the Gods Road.

So many people showed up for a community forum that police had to be called to control the crowd, and at times, the meeting got heated. The massive turnout forced organizers to hold two meetings back-to-back, with plans to hold a third session at a later date because they did not have room for everybody.

A line of hundreds stretched out the door and ran the length of the hotel where the conference room was at capacity. A large number in the crowd came to voice the "no data center" message that has been posted on yard signs in neighborhoods near the proposed site.

"I feel so empowered by having like-minded people standing in line," said Kayla Walker, who lives near the proposed center.

"I live a mile away and I don't think that our community really needs that or anybody else's community for that matter," Walker said.

Some who showed up heard the concerns of others and wanted to listen with an open mind to what the data center developers had to say.

"I'm pro-economic growth, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. So I just want to make sure they have an appropriate plan that benefits the community," said Bruce Stillman, an area resident.

Jason Green, one of the co-founders of the development company, told the crowd he is aware of concerns about energy consumption, heat from the plant, water for cooling, and noise pollution.

"All I ask is a couple of things, civil discourse is important," Green said.

Some attendees asked pointed questions during the forum.

"If that passes how do you plan to create 100% of your power through renewable energy?" a woman in the crowd asked, referring to a bill being considered in the Colorado legislature.

Others were more interested in shouting out protests.

"Where's your conscience?" another woman shouted.

Many in attendance either were not satisfied with the answers or questioned the legitimacy of the project. In response, developers offered to provide the data and studies required for permitting the project.

"I'll give you the full study because we have nothing to hide," Green said.

Organizers still have to figure out a date and location for the third public comment session, so more information is to come.

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