Residents opposed to tax breaks for a massive data center in Independence are ready to formally launch an effort to put the incentives on the ballot later this year so voters can weigh in.
But a spokesperson for the city said Thursday the city charter “does not permit a referendum on this specific matter, and approving a petition for circulation would be in violation of the Charter.”
The Independence City Council recently approved $6.26 billion in tax breaks over 20 years for the data center. Nebius, the Netherlands-based company leading the project, plans to begin constructing the nearly 400-acre AI campus later this year.
Rachel Gonzalez is a leader of a group opposing the data center that’s trying to gather enough signatures so residents can decide whether the city should give that money to Nebius.
“We believe that a project this massive, and especially when we're offering 20-year, 90% tax abatements to a billion-dollar corporation, that the Independence residents should get a say in that,” Gonzalez said.
A city spokesperson said the charter permits voters to reject ordinances by referendum, except those that go into effect immediately upon final passage by the city council. The charter also specifies that ordinances related to contracts take effect immediately, the city said.
City officials added they believe the data center ordinance falls under the latter category because it authorizes “specific contracts related to the bond issuance” for tax incentives, they said in a statement.
Gonzalez argued in a letter to the city clerk Thursday the city charter excludes emergency measures from public referendum. She said because the data center ordinance wasn’t passed with emergency status, residents aren’t prohibited from seeking a vote on it.
She also pointed to a different section of the city charter that she said preserves residents’ right to a referendum, as long as a certain number of registered voters’ signatures are submitted to the city clerk within a specified amount of time after the ordinance is approved by the city council.
Gonzalez said the group far exceeded the required 100 signatures to declare its intent to petition for a vote. They’d need about 3,700 signatures within 30 days to put the tax incentives on the ballot later this year, but they’re aiming to gather 5,000, she said.
Gonzalez is confident they’ll meet the goal. A Facebook group called “Stop the AI Data Center in Independence” and email list is rapidly growing.
“They can go out and get their neighbors to sign, their family members to sign, and I really believe that we have the strength in numbers,” Gonzalez said.
More than 45 people spoke out against the data center at Monday’s city hall meeting, but the project is backed by the Independence School District, Independence Chamber of Commerce and many local labor leaders.
The school district stands to gain more than $463 million over two decades if the project goes as planned, and supporters argue the city would miss out on tax money without the incentives.
Gonzalez said there’s been a lack of transparency around the project and some of her neighbors and family members still don’t know about it.
“I think it's really important for us to go show solidarity with our neighbors, but also show our city council members that we're not giving up,” Gonzalez said.
If the referendum effort fails, Gonzalez said many residents will take the data center into account during the April 7 election, when Independence voters will select mayoral and city council candidates.
