An Alabama animal shelter is taking on a massive AI data center project in court

An Alabama animal shelter is barking backmost against a monolithic AI information halfway that's nether building adjacent to its planned veterinary infirmary field successful Birmingham.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society revenge a suit earlier this period successful a bid to artifact the project, alleging that the metropolis of Birmingham, AL, and developers engaged successful a "months-long scheme" to greenlight it by sidestepping zoning rules.

The lawsuit, revenge successful Jefferson County Circuit Court, says that the four-month reappraisal for building permits for the much than $2 cardinal installation moved astatine "lightning speed" compared pinch the 18-month reappraisal for the nonprofits' planned $67 cardinal campus.

Entities of Nebius Group, the Amsterdam-headquartered AI infrastructure institution down the information halfway project, "coordinated" pinch the metropolis to "abuse ineligible processes and manipulate timelines to fast-track a favored task without owed process, respect for the law, aliases nationalist welfare," the suit alleges.

A Nebius spokesperson told Business Insider that the task was "permitted lawfully successful this commercialized territory and Nebius has followed the aforesaid rules that use to everyone other successful Birmingham."

"The installation has besides been thoughtfully designed and responsibly developed pinch measures including acoustical sound walls, grid power, and closed-loop cooling, among different areas," the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the metropolis of Birmingham said the metropolis does not remark connected ongoing litigation.

The humane society's suit says that the statement antecedently notified the metropolis and its zoning committee that the information halfway task "could deprive" it "of the planned usage of its spot because of sound that whitethorn interfere pinch its operations and beryllium harmful to animals and humans."

The information halfway is being built astir 160 feet from the spot statement of GBHS's early animal use campus, which is expected to see an take center, outdoor rehabilitation areas, and foster facilities, the nonprofit said.

"This lawsuit is not astir whether information centers should exist," Allison Black Cornelius, the president and CEO of the GBHS, said successful a statement. "It is astir whether a task of this size and characteristic should move guardant successful this location without the ineligible questions surrounding its support first being resolved."

Cornelius added, "We judge neighboring institutions, nonprofit organizations, residents, and the broader organization merit assurance that the applicable laws and procedures person been followed."

Nebius' information halfway has besides drawn abstracted ineligible action from area residents, according to section media reports.

The pushback comes amid increasing organization opposition to AI information halfway projects nationwide, driven by concerns astir their biology and economical impacts.

According to the investigation task Data Center Watch, astatine slightest 75 information halfway proposals worthy an estimated $130 cardinal were delayed aliases blocked during the first 3 months of 2026 because of section opposition.

As of May, location were astatine slightest 430 section Facebook groups pinch much than 525,000 members fighting backmost against AI information centers, according to the Data Center Opposition Report, which tracks section guidance to the projects.