KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She's been covering the impact of data centers across state lines extensively for years. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Neighbors in Independence are continuing their fight against a multibillion-dollar hyperscale AI data center.
On Tuesday night, dozens of residents gathered for a town hall to hear from attorneys and legal experts about how they may be able to fight for a data center moratorium.
Those who live near the Nebius AI data center have formed a coalition to call on city leaders for a temporary data center moratorium. The coalition is going by Independence G.U.A.R.D. Alliance (Guardians United Against Reckless Development).
The goal of the moratorium is to pause both future proposals and the current construction for the AI hyperscale facility off Bly Road.
Tuesday's town hall comes after neighbors filed for a referendum on the city council's vote to approve the Nebius data center. Residents argued that the decision should have gone out to a public vote.
"It's really a political situation that we have," Daniel Moorehead, leader of the Independence G.U.A.R.D. Alliance said. "We have a need for change at the city hall that basically rolled out a red carpet for data centers in this valley."
A Jackson County circuit court judge ultimately ruled that the data center will not go out to a public vote. After that decision, Independence residents filed a petition to recall city councilman John Perkins.
Residents did not get the necessary 1,104 signatures to move forward with the recall, collecting only 745 verified signatures. The Independence city clerk granted neighbors an additional 10 days to get the needed 1,104 signatures.
Moorehead explained that the formation of the coalition is another avenue neighbors are taking to try to block the data center.
"Until and unless we can get some relief from this, we'll keep going because it's the right thing to do," Moorehead said.
The group is working with attorneys to explore its legal options. Steve Jeffrey, an attorney with Jeffrey Law Group in St. Louis, represents more than a dozen clients across Missouri fighting against data centers. He explained there may be grounds for legal action based on alleged violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law.
"I think the one thing the group here has is passion," Jeffrey said. "They are very passionate and are very committed to what they're trying to do. I think it's just their commitment to the project is what makes their case so compelling."
Jeffrey explained that if there are Sunshine Law violations, it could potentially reverse the Nebius data center from progressing further.
"If there are enough violations of the Sunshine Law documented, and a lawsuit is filed, the circuit judge has legal authority to void any action taken by the city to approve a project or to approve a tax abatement project," Jeffrey said.
Nebius broke ground on its hyperscale data center in mid-May.
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