The fight against a proposed $150 billion data center in Independence, Missouri led to the recent filing of a lawsuit by citizens who object to the city’s recent approval of tax breaks for the project.
Three residents who belong to a grassroots watchdog group fighting the data center proposed by Nebius, a Dutch company, went to Jackson County District Court with a lawsuit. The three are asking a judge to allow a petition that could possibly put the tax breaks to a vote of the people.
Nebius proposed plans for a 400-acre data center breaking ground in the city this year. The company would power the the operation with its own power plant but the city council recently okayed more than $6 billion in tax breaks and bonds as part of an incentive plan.
The opponents, in their lawsuit, contended the city charter requires the city clerk to certify their petition would also allow them to collect additional signatures against the tax breaks, reported the Kansas City Star. Those who sued contend the city clerk failed to perform her job when she refused to certify the first batch of signatures.
Nebius already has data center campuses in Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth; Meridian, Mississippi, Northern Virginia, and Phoenix, Arizona in addition to sites around the world.
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