Two women circulated a petition asking their city to let voters decide on a data center. Now their city is suing them for it.
The dispute centers on a proposed $860 million data center, backed by Dubai-based DAMAC Digital, planned for a 400,000-square-foot warehouse at Logistics Park Kansas City, just outside Edgerton in Johnson County.
Kim Twente and Carrie Schmidt, along with others from the community, gathered enough signatures to put a data center vote on the November ballot, citing concerns about noise, air quality, and the environmental toll these facilities can take on nearby communities.
The city says in their lawsuit that banning data centers as a “nuisance” isn’t legal, and is now suing both women, along with the nonprofit Twente founded, Public Trust Collective.
Here’s their side of the story.
Helpful links while you watch:
“By right” means a project that meets existing code requirements can proceed without a public hearing, which is fast for developers, but cuts residents out of the process entirely. Learn more in this story:
The Code Words That Mean A Data Center Could Be Coming To Your Town
In Ashville, Ohio, a population of less than 5,000, the zoning permit that opened the door to a $450 million data center didn’t say “data center” anywhere near the top of the form.
City of Edgerton, Kansas: Frequently Asked Questions: Citizen Petition and City Court Action
Learn more about Public Trust Collective.
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