Independence residents sue, ask judge to clear path for anti-data center petition
As Independence residents search for a way to reverse the city’s recent approval of tax breaks for a $150 billion data center, one group of neighbors is taking the fight to the courts.
Nebius, a Dutch company specializing in artificial intelligence services, plans to make Independence its U.S. flagship location with a 400-acre data center breaking ground in the city this year. The $150 billion project, fueled by its own power plant, will benefit from more than $6 billion in tax breaks and bonds under an incentive plan passed by the Independence City Council last week.
Now, three residents associated with a grassroots watchdog group opposing the center have filed a lawsuit against the Independence city clerk, asking a judge to clear the way for a petition that could put the tax breaks to a public vote.
The lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Court on Monday, names the city of Independence and City Clerk Susanne Holland as defendants. Petitioners Rachel Gonzalez, Misty Vaughn and Karma Magers argue the city charter requires Holland to certify their petition, which would allow organizers to collect additional signatures against the tax breaks.
The additional signatures, in theory, could be used to trigger a referendum, forcing the city to put the data center tax breaks to a public vote.
City officials have argued that the charter does not leave room for a public petition and referendum effort in this situation. The lawsuit alleges, however, that the city clerk failed to perform her job by declining to certify the first batch of signatures, and asks a county judge to mandate that she do so.
“Right now, we’re being held up because the city is saying we cannot do a referendum,” Gonzalez told The Star. “But we’re moving forward getting those signatures.”
Legal claims
The lawsuit references a section of the charter which – at least according to Gonzalez, Vaughn and Magers – gives residents 10 days to collect 100 signatures to signal their intent for a referendum. The lawsuit argues that under the charter, this first batch of signatures would trigger a month-long waiting period before the tax breaks would go into effect.
Gonzalez, Vaughn, Magers and their associates submitted 184 signatures across 20 pages to the city clerk’s office at 10:30 a.m. on the morning after the vote, according to the lawsuit. City Clerk Holland “acknowledged receipt of the Petition” but declined to certify the signatures.
The City of Independence interpreted the charter differently, saying that Holland does not have a legal mandate to certify the first 100 signatures because of laws around contracts.
However, the lawsuit argues that Holland had a duty to affirm that the signatures were filed in the proper format, regardless of the city’s perspective on their legal strength.
“At this point, essentially, democracy is in the city’s hands,” Gonzalez said. “It says in our city charter that we can do a referendum, and we hope that a judge agrees with that and we can move forward, because this is the largest decision that our City Council has ever made in the history of the city of Independence.”
City spokesperson Rebecca Gannon previously said that the city would not entertain a legal challenge to the tax breaks, as ordinances approving specific contracts are considered to go into effect immediately without eligibility for a referendum process.
“The Charter — adopted and repeatedly affirmed by the citizens of Independence — does not permit a referendum on this specific matter,” Gannon previously said. “Approving a petition for circulation would be in violation of the Charter.”
A city spokesperson reiterated the city’s stance Wednesday that the tax breaks cannot be put to a referendum under the charter.
“This type of ordinance takes effect immediately upon passage as it authorizes the execution of various contracts associated with the approval, and is therefore not subject to a referendum,” a city spokesperson told The Star. “We are aware that a lawsuit has been filed, but the City Charter and the sections outlined here remain unchanged.”
Signature efforts continue
Meanwhile, Gonzalez, Vaughn, Magers and the other members of the Stop The AI Data Center in Independence group have collected more than 800 signatures in favor of putting the tax breaks to a vote. Gonzalez said that the group would need 3,700 signatures — plus the judge’s order they’re hoping to obtain with their lawsuit — in order to trigger a public vote.
Gonzalez said that resident support for the signature drive has been both bipartisan and overwhelming. Residents have been toting copies of the petition around town nightly, she said, hosting miniature signature drives in the parking lots of libraries and stores throughout Independence.
“I’ve never seen the city of Independence come together the way that they have on this issue,” Gonzalez told The Star. “We have people in our group that are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, people who have never voted in an election before, coming together because they essentially don’t want this massive hyperscale AI Data Center – one of the largest in the country – in their neighborhood.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:31 AM.
