A Jackson County judge ruled Wednesday that Independence residents could not put the city’s more than $6 billion in tax breaks for an artificial intelligence data center on the ballot.
Residents sued the city earlier this month after it rejected their efforts to put the 20-year, 90% tax incentives on the ballot for voters to get the final say.
Independence officials argued that the city charter did not allow a referendum because the ordinance granting the tax incentives had already taken effect. Residents believe the charter allowed for a vote on the issue, and the ordinance could not take effect until the referendum process played out.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Independence said the city appreciates the court’s “thoughtful review and ruling.”
“This decision reinforces the balance built into our City Charter, allowing the City to carry out specific projects while still protecting residents’ ability to challenge certain types of ordinances,” the city said in a statement. “With this ruling, the City will move forward with its commitments and remain focused on the long-term success of our community.”
The Independence City Council approved the tax breaks for Nebius, a Dutch company that plans to build what it calls an “AI factory” in the city, earlier this month — despite fierce opposition from residents. Preparations for the more than 400-acre campus are already underway, with crews clearing the land for the facility off of Route 78 and Little Blue Parkway.
The residents opposed to the data center, who gathered in a Facebook group with more than 100,000 members called “Stop the AI Data Center in Independence,” began working to put the tax breaks up for a citywide vote through a referendum petition after the city council vote.
“This project would shape our city’s infrastructure, finances and environment for decades. Decisions of that scale deserve transparency and public input,” Rachel Gonzalez, one of the residents who sued Independence, previously told KCUR.
The group had already gathered more than 2,000 of the 3,700 signatures it needed to put the tax breaks on the ballot, had the judge ruled in its favor.
Gonzalez said the group still plans to turn in its signatures next week to demonstrate how many residents participated in the effort.
“While this is not the outcome we were hoping for, it does not change what we’ve built together or why we started this in the first place,” Gonzalez said in a Facebook post. “We respectfully disagree with the decision and are currently evaluating whether to pursue an appeal.”
In the meantime, residents opposed to the data center are focusing on the city’s April 7 election for mayor and two city council seats. Many residents opposed to the data center say they want to hold candidates who voted for it while on city council, or otherwise support it, accountable.
