Jeers and cheers erupted this week after the Sand Springs City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to rezone land and make way for a proposed 827-acre Google data center.
White Rose Partners is the developer who intends to build the data center to be run by Google along Highway 97. Approval came despite receiving heavy push back from community residents, reported the Tulsa Flyer.
Mayor Jim Spoon was among the six who supported allowing the construction of the data center.
“I think Google is going to be such a good partner,” Spoon said. “They are generous, they are considerate. I think they are going to do everything correct, and we are going to make sure that they do.”
Prior to the vote, he told the crowd of nearly 300 that it was a “yes or no” decision, claiming there would “not be another opportunity” for the city to be home to a data center.
As the Tulsa Flyer reported, Sand Springs Alliance, a local grassroots group, filed a lawsuit alleging city officials violated annexation policies during the process of changing the land to be a part of city limits. City officials say they have been assured there are not any legal issues that will stop the project from continuing, but the court case continues.
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