Wildwood Ranch Data Center, Joplin, Missouri

Neighbors have sued to undo Joplin's rezoning of land at West 20th Street and Central City Road, in Jasper County, Missouri, where Wildwood Ranch LLC wants to sell land for a data center. The Joplin City Council annexed 540 acres of the property in January 2026 and rezoned a total of 600 acres from residential to heavy industrial, and a Mokan Partnership listing puts the project's power at 200 megawatts or more. The rezoning is approved; a circuit court judge is now reviewing a lawsuit seeking to void it.

The land belongs to Wildwood Ranch LLC, whose owner, James "Jimmer" Pinjuv, requested the annexation and rezoning; he has said a sale for a technology or data center site was not finalized, so he does not know who the developer or end user would be. City documents said the owner wants to sell to a developer "interested in developing the site for heavy industrial use," and the planning commission recommended approval in January 2026.

About seven hours of public comment preceded the council's approval, and hundreds of residents raised the volume of water and electricity the campus might use; Pinjuv and officers of Missouri American Water and Liberty, the local electric utility, said rates would not rise, and Pinjuv said the developer or end user would pay for utility service. State Rep. Cathy Jo Loy and U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison sent letters supporting the project.

The Joplin Sustainable Technology Alliance tried to force a citywide vote, gathering 2,832 signatures to repeal the annexation and 2,348 to repeal the rezoning, each far short of the roughly 5,032 required, and the council certified both petitions insufficient. "While we didn't hit the required goal of 5,032 signatures, we still showed the council that there is a lot of concern about data centers in the community," said Rebecca Collins, the alliance's director.

The lawsuit comes from inside the development: Derek and Laura Snyder own two lots in Forest View Estates, a subdivision Wildwood Ranch created and sold as a quiet, nature-preserving single-family area that borders the south side of the data center land. Their suit against the city, Mayor Keenan Cortez, the council members and Wildwood Ranch LLC alleges the council fast-tracked the project without required traffic, environmental or utility studies and approved heavy industrial zoning with no site plan, though the city's own code calls heavy industry incompatible with homes.

It also argues the council gave up its legislative powers by basing the rezoning on a 2009 agreement made by a prior council, and that the rezoning violates the development's own land-use agreement, which requires owners to preserve the land's natural state. The Jasper County circuit court now decides whether the rezoning stands; no ruling has been published.