Joplin City Council passes annexation, rezoning of land in Wildwood Ranch
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After a three and a half hour meeting, the Joplin City Council has approved the annexation and rezoning of hundreds of acres of land in the southwest side of town that could possibly be home to an AI data center in the future.
In a 6 - 4 vote, the Joplin City Council voted to APPROVE the annexation of approximately 540 Acres SW of the intersection of Central City Rd and W 20th Street, also known as Wildwood Ranch. Shortly after, they approved the rezoning of said land from R1 (Residential) to M2 (Heavy Industrial) in a 7 - 2 vote.
But before either vote, the council heard more than two and a half hours of citizen testimony which included more than 25 people.
During the annexation vote, more than 20 people addressed the council in opposition to the annexation of the land with a handful of people voicing support for it.
What's the reason for the public interest? It has been rumored that the land owner plans to bring a superscaler onto the property to construct a data center. Much of the opposition to tonight's annexation vote surrounded concerns of what would happen if the private owner does build a data center on the land. Comments ranged from concerns about water and electric use, to noise pollution, to physical proximity to nearby residents.
Following the public comment period, the council moved to vote 6 - 4 in favor of annexing.
After a 10 minute break, the council meeting resumed a discussion regarding the rezoning of said land where many of the same voices once again addressed the council in opposition. Following that, the council voted 7 -3 in favor of rezoning the land to heavy industry.
The meeting Tuesday evening had to be moved to Missouri Southern due to the large crowd that exceeded normal council chambers capacity at a previous meeting.
City officials though reminded NewsTalk KZRG that even though they have approved the annexation and rezoning, it does not automatically mean an AI data center will go on that land. Numerous studies still need to be conducted for something like that to happen.
Opponents of the data centers say their water and electricity bills will rise exponentially if one is built in town, but Mayor Keenan Cortez says that's not happening in places where these data centers are being put in.
