Judge denied data center vote. Independence residents got 5,000 signatures anyway
A Jackson County judge ruled last week that Independence residents do not have the right to use a petition process to force a public vote on city-approved tax breaks for an incoming supersize artificial intelligence data center.
But the verdict didn’t stop residents from getting the word out and finishing what they started.
Nebius, a Dutch company specializing in AI services, plans to break ground later this year on a $150 billion AI data center. The 400-acre project, set to be double the size of Arrowhead Stadium, has drawn widespread concern from residents about potential impacts to their health, environment, financial futures and quality of life.
The project will draw in $650 million for various taxing jurisdictions around Independence over 20 years, but will benefit from a series of 90-98% tax breaks passed by the Independence City Council early last month. When the tax breaks passed 5-2, residents immediately sought to start the petition process to bring the incentives to the ballot. City officials have consistently maintained that the financing package was not eligible for the referendum process.
Over the course of 21 days, about 4,865 people signed the petition for a potential referendum, according to organizer Rachel Gonzalez. The signatures were collected across 113 petition copies and 554 pages as a Jackson County judge considered a lawsuit filed by three organizers, weighing the group’s right to a referendum process.
Most of the signatures were collected in the last seven days of the petition drive. The first two weeks saw about 2,200 signatures accrued, with about 2,685 added in the final week.
More than 7% of registered Independence voters signed the petition, according to Gonzalez, one of the plaintiffs in the recent lawsuit. If a referendum had been approved, the group would have needed 5% of registered voters to sign in order to force a ballot question on the data center tax breaks.
Gonzalez submitted 554 pages of signatures around 8 a.m. on March 30, accompanied by co-organizer Misty Vaughn and several residents of Bly Road, the street closest to the future data center site.
The signed petitions filled two industrial-sized paper boxes, which Gonzalez unloaded at Independence Municipal Commons as several city staffers looked on. Gonzalez previously said that the group had hoped to collect 5,000 signatures regardless of the results of the lawsuit.
“In the event of a successful appeal, we hope those voices will still count,” Gonzalez wrote on social media. “...This moment only shows how important it is to stay involved, to keep asking questions, and to keep showing up.”
Gonzalez told The Star that she plans to speak at the April 8 meeting of the Independence City Council, signatures in hand.
“No one can ever make me feel bad for standing up for the people,” Gonzalez told The Star. “I’ll keep showing up, even when it feels like an uphill battle.”
Residents have been coordinating daily petition drives for almost a month, gathering outside eateries, libraries, government buildings and other hotspots around Independence. Some attended political organizer training events held by statewide data center watchdog groups, while others formed smaller teams to knock doors and distribute flyers around their neighborhoods.
“Real, positive change doesn’t happen overnight,” Gonzalez told The Star. “It comes from staying consistent, staying engaged, and refusing to give up. Our group is just getting started.”
Since the lawsuit verdict was handed down in favor of the city, the group of residents has refocused its energy on the upcoming April 7 municipal election. Organizers and a small emergent group of regular petition drive leaders have been organizing voter drives on behalf of mayoral candidate Kevin King and City Council candidate Jackie Dorman.
Members have coordinated to knock doors, create phone trees and talk up the candidates outside of poll places. The group will hold an election night watch party on April 7 at 7 p.m. at The Delaware Event Space in downtown Independence.
“[Jackie and Kevin] have consistently listened to the concerns of the people,” Gonzalez told The Star. “They’ve shown up, met with the most impacted residents on Bly Road, and acknowledge that the city should have handled this project better.”
Members have also used the group as a hub to track data center developments elsewhere in the Kansas City region, learn more about the history of Nebius and share opportunities to plead their case to state leaders.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 6:21 AM.
