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Residents press Miami County commissioners over Osawatomie data center, tax abatements
Summary
Residents at the June 4 Miami County Commission meeting urged the board to oppose tax abatements and tighten zoning for a proposed data center in Osawatomie, arguing it threatens property values and quality of life; commissioners said a three-year moratorium is in place while staff studies zoning and abatement tools.
Residents urged Miami County commissioners on June 4 to take a clear stance against a proposed Osawatomie data center, raising concerns about noise, property values and county involvement in infrastructure that could support the project.
John Klingley, a local resident and veteran, asked the commission directly whether any member supported the project and whether the county would approve tax abatements. "Who’s gonna protect my property values from plummeting?" he asked, describing the project as a 500-megawatt, air-cooled data center close to his home and saying he had seen “no voice” in favor of the facility at recent public meetings. Klingley pressed the board to publicly pledge not to grant abatements and to use zoning tools to prevent clustering of data centers.
Commissioners said the board had already placed a moratorium on data centers in unincorporated areas and that staff is reviewing zoning options and the approach taken by neighboring counties. "We put a moratorium on it for 3 years," the chair said, adding the moratorium was intended to allow study of the issue. Several commissioners noted they had not received formal documents or applications about the project from the developer or the city and declined to pre-announce how they would vote on future abatement or zoning requests.
Commissioner (speaker 3) noted the county has tools beyond a moratorium, such as not approving county-level tax abatements and adjusting zoning setbacks and buffer rules, but he cautioned the board cannot make a decision without formal proposals. "One tool we have is not approving the tax abatements from the county level," he said as a possible option. Planning and zoning staff said they were evaluating models used elsewhere and would report back.
Next steps: commissioners said staff would continue research on zoning and abatement options during the moratorium period and invited residents to city and county meetings for further discussion. The commission did not vote on abatements or specific restrictions at the June 4 meeting.
