Opposition draws legal battle lines
SAND SPRINGS — Punxutawney Phil may have seen his shadow last Monday, dooming us to six more weeks of winter, but more importantly, the Google Data Center groundhog may have seen his shadow as well, portending what could be six more weeks of legal wrangling in the debate over Project Spring.
A second lawsuit in the fight was filed Monday, Feb. 2, by Ronald E. Durbin II, a former Tulsa attorney who was disbarred in 2024. Durbin alleges that City Manager Mike Carter, the Sand Springs City Council and the Planning Commission violated the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act during discussions and actions related to Project Spring. Durbin filed the suit as a private citizen.
“I don’t really believe that suit has any merit,” said City Manager Mike Carter. “We follow the letter of the law and we didn’t violate anything.
The following evening, Tuesday, Feb. 3, in a special meeting, the Sand Springs City Council approved rezoning requests tied to the data center, voting 6–1 at the closing of a volatile meeting and moving the project to the next step.
Ward 5 Councilor Beau Wilson cast the sole vote against the measure.
The vote followed a recommendation from the Sand Springs Planning Commission, which voted 6–1 in their meeting the previous week, to forward the proposal to the city council after an equally-volatile public hearing.
The application for rezoning, submitted by Dallas-based developer White Rose Partners, involves approximately 827 acres along Oklahoma 97 near 56th Street North. The request included changing the zoning designation from Agricultural to Industrial Light, adding a Planned Unit Development overlay, and amending the city’s comprehensive plan for the site. The land is currently owned by the Ringle Family, LLC.
The proposed data center, referred to as Project Spring, has prompted discourse in Sand Springs, generating two lawsuits, the threat of a third, and an organized effort to recall all seven members of the City Council.
Sand Springs Mayor James “Jim” O. Spoon, Carter, and Sand Springs Schools Superintendent Shelly Durkee say the impacts to the community and schools could change the entire complexion of the area — citing the potential for millions of dollars in revenue flowing into city coffers and into the school district via ad valorem revenue. They insist that the increased funding could be used to support economic development initiatives, infrastructure improvements and enhancements to quality of life for residents, city employees and school district patrons.
Opposition
Opposition to the project centers around residents living near the proposed site. Concerned residents formed a grassroots movement against Project Springs and branded themselves the Protect Sand Springs Alliance. Alliance members contend that financial projections associated with the data center are overstated and unlikely to materialize, but this is only one of many concerns, including the potential for negative impacts on the environment and the health of the surrounding population; effects on farming and ranching operations, threats to the area’s rural character, increased traffic along Oklahoma 97, and possible light, air and noise pollution.
Those concerns have been voiced during lengthy public hearings, during which dozens of residents spoke out.
Representatives from Google, White Rose Partners and the Public Service Company of Oklahoma attended two of those meetings last month, where they delivered presentations and responded to dozens of questions.
Legal challenges
A first lawsuit was filed in January, after residents learned that the city annexed the Ringle property in June, at the request of the Ringle family. The suit was brought by the Protect Sand Springs Alliance along with two couples who own property adjacent to the proposed data center site.
In a filing submitted Jan. 7, in Osage County District Court, the plaintiffs alleged the city failed to follow required legal procedures and statutory requirements during the annexation process. The lawsuit seeks a court order invalidating the annexation and preventing development of the property.
City Manager Mike Carter and Sand Springs Mayor Jim Spoon have maintained that the annexation was conducted lawfully. The city filed a motion Jan. 16 asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit. The Ringle Family LLC, which is also named as a defendant, filed a separate motion seeking dismissal.
“We don’t believe (the lawsuit) will have any impact on the project,” said Carter earlier this week. “We believe we did things the right way and that planning and zoning did things the right way.”
Ronald Durbin’s suit alleges that Carter, the City Council and the Planning Commission violated the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act during discussions and actions related to the data center.
Durbin, was disbarred by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2024.
Sources close to the Protect Sand Springs Alliance say a third legal challenge, not yet filed, looms on the horizon that could be filed by an official with Land Legacy, which holds a conservation easement on a portion of the now rezoned property.
In addition to court action, the Protect Sand Springs Alliance has launched a recall effort targeting all seven Sand Springs City Council members. Paperwork required to begin the recall processes was filed with the Sand Springs City Clerk’s Office last Monday, Feb. 1.
Ontheweb:projectspringok. com and protectss.org/home