Jackson County legislature still considering data center zoning ban. What to know
Update: The legislature will not vote on the proposed data center zoning moratorium until at least June 1. A public hearing has been set for June 1 at 3 p.m.
The Jackson County Legislature is still weighing a potential moratorium on zoning for new data centers and battery centers within city limits, with the issue returning to legislators Monday afternoon.
The legislature has been weighing the ban since early April, The Star previously reported. It would ensure that new data centers are not constructed in unincorporated areas of the county, at least temporarily.
The proposed ordinance would set a 120-day moratorium on any land use applications that propose building a data center in county limits. It would also enact a ban of the same length for applications regarding Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites, facilities that capture energy from various sources and store them in batteries.
Legislative Vice-Chair Sean Smith, who ended his bid for Congress around the time he proposed the ordinance, initially described the ban as an opportunity for a waiting period that could be used to set more permanent county policy around data center land use.
Legislators will meet at 3 p.m. Monday at the Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Kansas City. If legislators decline to enact the ordinance today, it could be held for consideration at a future meeting.
Future of the data centers around Jackson County
The text of the Jackson County ordinance cites the “rapid emergence and expansion of data center developments” as a motivator behind the legislation, which has now been either in committee or before the legislature for about six weeks. Legislators also noted that they were inspired by “widespread community opposition and resident concerns related to large industrial technology facilities.”
Similar legislation has been passed in Kansas City as attention turns to local governments across the metro to weigh in on whether the data center boom has a future in Jackson, Platte, Clay, Johnson and Wyandotte counties and beyond.
At least 10 “hyperscale” data centers, including five projects that will use over 100 megawatts of capacity, are in progress in the Kansas City metropolitan area, The Star previously reported.
Nebius, a Dutch AI services company, broke ground on its $150 billion, 400-acre data center – which is expected to have a capacity of at least 800 megawatts – last week on an industrially zoned site in Independence, though the company has yet to submit its final building plans to the city. Construction at the heavily secured site will take place over the next 5-7 years, over the protest of many residents, particularly those who live closest to the Nebius property.
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 1:08 PM.
