Facepalm: It's another day, another sign of the growing anti-AI data center sentiment in the US. One week after the city council of Festus, Missouri, voted 6-2 to approve a development agreement for a $6 billion facility, voters removed all four incumbents who were up for reelection, changing half of the eight-seat council in a single night.
Festus leaders pitched the project, set to span roughly 360 acres north of Highway 67 and Route CC, as a once-in-a-generation windfall, but many residents saw it as a massive development being pushed through over local objections.
More than two dozen residents spoke at the March 30 meeting and all opposed the project. Some homeowners near the site said they feared for their property values, while others were alarmed by a voluntary buyout program tied to nearby homes.
It goes without saying that city officials and developer CRG, part of Chicago-based Clayco, have painted a very different picture. In a public statement posted before the vote, Mayor Sam Richards said the project would bring a $6 billion initial investment and an estimated $1.3 billion in property taxes, utility taxes, and community benefit payments over 25 years.
Richards also said CRG would not seek real property tax abatement and that the city's utility tax would not be capped. Clayco founder Bob Clark later defended the proposal, saying the company would not move forward if it could not be built safely.
But the pitch didn't have the intended effect; the four winning challengers ran on anti-data-center and pro-transparency platforms.
The political damage may not be over, either. Residents are backing a petition aimed at removing the mayor and the rest of the council. There's also a lawsuit filed by Wake Up Jeffco and nearby property owners that seeks to invalidate the city's approval, alleging illegal rezoning, insufficient public notice, and private discussions that should have happened in public.
Festus is not an isolated case. Missouri has already seen similar anger in Independence, where voters ousted council members who supported major AI data center tax breaks.
It was reported last week that 13 shots were fired at Indianapolis councilman Ron Gibson's home after he backed a $500 million data center project that has caused months of protests and rallies from residents. A note was left on his doorstep that read "No Data Centers."
A January Pew Research Center survey of 8,512 US adults found that more respondents viewed data centers negatively in terms of environmental impact and energy costs than positively.
Missouri town ousts half of its city council after $6 billion AI data center approval
