A group of Yukon residents wants voters, not city officials, to decide whether data centers get built in their community.

Charles Scott filed paperwork Aug. 24, 2026 at Yukon City Hall to launch a petition initiative that would amend the city charter and repeal existing ordinances related to data centers. The goal: require a public vote before any future data center project moves forward.

Scott is one of four people behind the effort. The group has 90 days to collect 162 signatures from registered voters. If they hit that threshold, the charter amendment question could land on the ballot as early as April 2027.

The petition targets a planned billion-dollar, 184-acre data center near U.S. Highway 66 and Frisco Road. The site is city-owned land that the Yukon Municipal Authority agreed to sell to BLE Landholdings, LLC. The facility has not been built. Water and power agreements have not been finalized.

Scott, who lives about 1,500 feet from the planned site, told KOCO that some homes in his subdivision sit within 300 feet of the property line.

"Data centers can have a substantial impact on a community. They're large, they're using a lot of resources, and they're noisy and, in a small town like Yukon, which is kind of semi-rural, they would change their composure in this town. So it's just right that citizens should be able to have a say whether that is in their community," Scott said.

A different tool than the recall

The charter petition is legally separate from the recall election already underway against Mayor Brian Pillmore. The Yukon City Council voted Aug. 11, 2026 to order a recall election for the Ward 3 seat Pillmore holds, set for Nov. 3. The city clerk certified 1,451 recall signatures, just two more than the 1,449 required.

Joe Phillips, a Frisco Ridge resident who opposed the data center and was part of the recall effort, has filed to run for the Ward 3 seat in that election.

The charter petition uses a different mechanism. Where the recall required nearly 1,500 Ward 3 signatures, the charter initiative needs just 162 from any registered Yukon voter citywide. And instead of removing an official, it would permanently change how the city approves data center projects.

At a June 30, 2026, council meeting, Scott addressed the council about low-frequency sound and potential health impacts from data centers, according to city meeting minutes. No official action was taken that night.

Part of a national pattern

Yukon's fight mirrors conflicts in other small cities. The New York Times reported Aug. 19 that residents in more than a dozen communities nationwide have pursued recall elections against officials who approved data center projects, including in Independence and Festus, Missouri.

The petition group's 90-day signature window runs through late November. Neither the city of Yukon nor BLE Landholdings has publicly commented on the charter petition effort.