KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan first brought you resident concerns and has been following movement on this industrial development project in the city of Spring Hill. Share your story idea with Ryan.
—
The City of Spring Hill, Kansas, announced it will delay a hearing on a major industrial development bid to rezone approximately 300 acres of farmland north of town.
This comes following stark opposition from neighbors near the site, first shared by KSHB 41's Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa. There is a proposal to update the current land from Rural Residential, R-R, to M-1 General Industrial.
"I feel very much left in the dark, because we have not been informed of what the potentials are," said Kurt Vandepol, a neighbor to the property. "This is an area where that is rural, agricultural and residential, and that's how I should think it should say."
RELATED | Miami County Commission considers pause on data center construction following nearby $1B proposal
There is still no clear indication as to what development could come to this property.
A city spokesperson told KSHB 41 in an email Monday that the city received an application to rezone the land, but an end user or business has not been identified.
Residents fear this could be a data center project. The city updated its industrial zoning code in late 2025, adding Information Technology centers to its M-1 zoning code.
That could open the door for a data center after the Spring Hill City Attorney Spencer Low explained to the city council this gives the city an option to consider a data center project.
The city has not stated if the reason this land is being rezoned is for a data center. KSHB 41 has asked the City of Spring Hill for a clearer picture on the scope of the project, and a city spokesperson has not answered that question.
Neighboring communities have their own data center concerns.
Down the road in Osawatomie, Kansas, a data center proposal has popped up in the town of 4,000 people.
RELATED | Marais Des Cygnes River at center of debate over proposed Miami County $1B data center deal
KSHB 41's Ryan Gamboa has continued to follow up on that project. Osawatomie was even mentioned during Monday's neighborhood meeting of concerned residents.
"It sets precedent, so that precedent can allow other changes in things that can be put into that type zoning," Mark Stirling told KSHB 41 on Monday. "There's a variety of uses that can come in for that and some of those uses don't necessarily fit for what's here."
That is how neighbors felt about a possible data center and any industrial development.
"The rumor mill is really running hard right now," Michael Black, another neighbor said.
"Even if it's a data center, it's a huge concrete building that destroys the landscape. It then has impact on water quality, impact on utilities and it affects the whole area," Kurt Vandepol said. "If I wanted to live next to industry, I would've bought property next to industry."
According to Planning Commission meeting documents, the hearing has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. March 25 and is now considered a special meeting of the planning commission.
A City of Spring Hill spokesperson told Gamboa in an email, "We rescheduled it to a future date so that it wouldn’t conflict with any other previously scheduled agenda items for the March 5 planning commission meeting. It's called a special meeting because it's not being held at the first Thursday of each month as regularly scheduled."
Lindsay Museousky, who lives near the property told KSHB 41 on Friday, the constant waiting and lack of information on the project stirs emotions.
"It's not just anxiety, it's anger," she said in a text message to Gamboa. "When you have families who have built their lives in the community, farmers who have worked this land for generations, and parents whose children walk into schools less than a mile from this site every single day, the silence from city officials isn't just frustrating. It's insulting."
"Every delay, every postponement, every non-answer makes it worse — not just for moral, but for trust," Museousky added. "When the city pushes back a public hearing without explanation, it signals this community that decisions are being made for us, not with us. And frankly, it gives the developers and their legal team more time to prepare while residents are left in the dark. That's not how local government is supposed to work."
Gamboa followed up with questions to the city Friday regarding specifics of the project, and the city did not answer those questions.
—
