The Edgerton City Council has denied a temporary ban on data centers, making it the second community in Johnson County to consider and deny a moratorium this month.
Next door in Gardner, the city council considered but ultimately denied a similar proposed six-month ban on June 1.
The Edgerton City Council on Thursday voted 3-2 to deny a six-month moratorium, which would have temporarily prevented applications for facilities where the primary use was a data center.
After City Attorney Todd Luckman provided a brief clarification on the measure’s language, Councilmember Josh Lewis immediately made a motion to deny the six-month ban.
Edgerton resident Kim Twente said she’s disappointed in the decision, adding that the community’s worked hard to get a moratorium passed.
“These city council meetings have been flooded with people,” Twente said. “People have been speaking up and very publicly expressing that they do not want this in their town. For them (city council) to blatantly deny a moratorium is — it’s like they’re spitting in their citizens’ faces.
“They’re supposed to be representing us,” she added, “not these corporations that are coming in.”
The city council did not discuss the measure before voting. Lewis, Council President Clay Longanecker and Councilmember Bill Malloy voted for the denial, while Councilmembers Deb Lebakken, who asked for the measure last month, and Ron Conus voted against it.
In emailed responses for comment after the meeting, both Lebakken and Conus told the Post that they’re disappointed with the moratorium’s denial.
“I pushed for a moratorium — and voted against the denial — because we still don’t have the environmental answers our community deserves,” Lebakken said in an email Saturday. “I’m extremely disappointed that the council had no chance to discuss this openly before the vote.”
The Post has reached out to the city’s spokesperson, Kara Banks, along with every councilmember, for comment. We’ll update the story as we hear back from the remaining councilmembers, including Lewis, Longanecker and Malloy.
After the moratorium vote, the city council went into executive session to discuss items protected by attorney-client privilege. No action was taken as a result of the executive session, and it’s unclear what was discussed behind closed doors.
Looking back
Thursday’s vote comes just days after the Edgerton Planning Commission denied an $860 million data center proposal from Dubai-based DAMAC Digital. The proposal called for converting a nearly 400,000-square-foot warehouse at Logistics Park Kansas City into a data center.
DAMAC’s proposed facility, like other data centers, would’ve housed rows of computers meant for storing, processing and transmitting data. Here’s an explainer from the Associated Press about how data centers work.
This isn’t the first time the Edgerton City Council and residents have clashed on development in and around the town.
In late 2020, the city council annexed more than 600 acres of unincorporated land owned by NorthPoint Development into Edgerton. Not long after, NorthPoint proposed rezoning that land for industrial warehouses south of Logistics Park Kansas City.
At the time, residents came out in droves to speak against the rezoning, and many cited concerns related to traffic, the proximity to Hillsdale Lake, losing the area’s natural feel and the initial annexation, which neighbors said appeared to happen suddenly.
And even though the annexation had already been approved, neighbors kept fighting.
By 2023, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach had stepped in, ultimately siding with the residents when he sued the city of Edgerton. Kobach contended that the city’s 2020 annexation was illegal and that the land, which had been eyed for industrial development, must return to unincorporated status.
However, a Johnson County District Court judge ruled in favor of the city last year.
Public comment
While the city council did not discuss the measure Thursday night, several people spoke on a moratorium and data centers during public comment, which took place before the vote on the moratorium.
Five people spoke against data centers, and in favor of a moratorium, with a couple requesting a longer ban than the six-month period suggested by city staff.
Two people spoke in support of data centers, including James Oltman, president of Elevate Edgerton, a public-private economic development partnership. He talked about the city’s recent work, which included public feedback, updating its comprehensive plan and future land use map.
Oltman advocated against the moratorium, instead asking the city council to trust in the work the city’s done thus far.
“A moratorium simply pauses investment and development while creating uncertainty for property owners and businesses that have relied on the plans, policies and zoning framework already established by the city,” Oltman said. “Uncertainty is one of the greatest deterrents to investment in development.”
Edgerton resident William LeFalce, who spoke against data centers, called for several items while speaking during public comment, including the dissolution of Elevate Edgerton, a three-year data center moratorium, a public review of zoning codes and the resignations of city council.
“We need to update and strengthen the UDC (Unified Development Code) against projects like this and remove any ambiguity to never allow this danger to impact our community and state,” LeFalce said. “But, we demand oversight on the process. We’re not going to let you do this without us seeing how you do it.”
Other cities in Johnson County
Earlier this spring, a data center application was withdrawn in Spring Hill.
Then, a California-based company withdrew its data center application in Gardner, following community pushback. Following this, residents pushed for a moratorium. While the city council discussed the measure, it was ultimately denied on June 1.
However, one data center continues to move forward. A plan for a $3.1 billion data center in De Soto that has already been approved and is now underway will take seven to nine years for a full build-out at 103rd Street and Edgerton Road, according to developers.
California-based Beale Infrastructure is leading the De Soto project, which has a planned open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at De Soto High School.
