A Festus resident has filed a lawsuit against the city of Festus, asking the courts to reverse recent City Council actions involving data centers.
It is at least the second lawsuit filed this year against Festus relating to plans by CRG of St. Louis to develop a data center on property north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC in Festus.
Morgan Ruzicka v. City of Festus, Missouri was filed Feb. 6 in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, asking for a declaratory judgment challenging Ordinance 4858 (which enacts regulations relating to data centers) and Ordinance 4864 (annexing property to be included in the CRG data center development).
The Festus City Council approved the ordinances during separate meetings in the fall of 2025.
The Ruzicka case has been assigned to Div. 2 Circuit Judge Edward Page, who also has been assigned the lawsuit of Jesse Cordova v. City of Festus et. al., filed Jan. 8 in Jefferson County Circuit Court. That lawsuit asks for declaratory and injunctive relief and civil penalties for violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law.
Among the requests of the Ruzicka lawsuit are for the court to: declare the ordinances unlawful, void and unenforceable; stop the city of Festus from issuing any permits, site plan approvals, development agreements or other authorizations related to the proposed data center project; enter an order to keep the project from proceeding pending a final judgment on the case; and award the petitioner “costs and such further relief as is just and proper.”
Brian Malone, the Festus city attorney, when contacted for this story responded, “The city of Festus is aware of Mr. Ruzicka’s lawsuit. The city of Festus took all steps required by law to enact regulations applicable to data centers, to annex property and to rezone property to I-1, including publication of all required notices and public hearings. We will respond to Mr. Ruzicka’s petition in court in due course.”
Efforts to reach Ruzicka were unsuccessful. Court documents indicate Ruzicka is representing himself in the case.
Opponents of the data center project have questioned, among other things, the way Festus officials dealt with CRG before development plans were brought up at public city meetings.
CRG is the St. Louis-based data center development arm for Clayco. In the Festus project, CRG would develop the property, and then a data center company would operate it, although no operator has yet been identified.
Clayco is the same company that in August 2025 withdrew its plans to develop a 440-acre data center in St. Charles following a public outcry against it.
On Nov. 10, 2025, the Festus City Council agreed to annex 240 acres of the 370-acre property site of the proposed project that previously were outside the city limits. The other 130 acres were already located inside the city and did not need to be annexed.
Among the allegations made in the Ruzicka lawsuit are:
■ Ordinances 4858 and 4864 “fundamentally altered permitted land uses by allowing heavy industrial facilities in close proximity to established residential neighborhoods.”
■ Festus enacted the ordinances without conducting an environmental impact or traffic study, infrastructure capacity analysis, noise impact study or public health assessment.
■ The city deferred review of these impacts until after rezoning “despite knowing that data centers require massive electrical power, industrial cooling systems, backup diesel generators and continuous mechanical operations.”
■ City officials attended private informational meetings with the project developer prior to the rezoning hearing, and “As a result, information influencing the rezoning decision was not disclosed through the formal public process.”
■ The rezoning created unlawful spot zoning.
A civil setting on the Cordova case is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 5 before Page at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Hillsboro. A case management conference on the Ruzicka case is scheduled for 9 a.m. June 9 before Page, also at the Jefferson County Courthouse.