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The Independence City Council voted 5-2 to approve an incentive plan for a massive AI data center after nearly five hours of comments from residents last night. Councilmember Brice Stewart and Mayor Rory Rowland voted against the proposal. The data center will include four main buildings on about 400 acres, a site about twice the size of Arrowhead Stadium. It will cost $6.6 billion to construct and will contain up to $144 billion in specialized equipment, for a total project cost around $150 billion. Councilmembers approved about $6.2 billion in tax breaks for Nebius’ future U.S. flagship facility, forfeiting potential property tax revenue for the next 20 years. Residents packed the Independence council chambers to capacity and overflowed into the lobby, with security officers turning residents away starting 15 minutes before the meeting. Many carried “No Data Center” signs on their laps or stood against the wall for hours, waiting in a line 60 deep for a turn to speak. “This isn’t going to end with this vote,” Independence resident Griffin Harness-Clark said. “There will be citizen resistance. We are going to be out here... you sure won’t be seeing the last of the city of Independence about this issue.” Read more at the link in our bio.
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