Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Commissioners back planning‑commission changes to solar compensatory fund bill; MALPF formula to be used
Summary
Caroline County commissioners voted Oct. 14 to amend a draft local law establishing a county Agricultural Land Preservation Fund to collect compensatory payments from utility‑scale solar projects that affect high‑quality farmland, adopting planning‑commission recommendations to use MALPF appraisal averages and cover Class 1 and Class 2 soils.
Caroline County commissioners voted Oct. 14 to amend a proposed local law that would create a county Agricultural Land Preservation Fund to receive compensatory payments from utility‑scale solar and energy‑storage projects that affect high‑quality farmland.
The planning commission recommended calculating payments using the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) appraisal average per acre (the state’s appraisals of fair‑market value) and charging 75% of that amount on the full project acreage when any portion of the solar site includes Class 1 or Class 2 soils. Commissioners approved that recommendation and directed county counsel and staff to incorporate the planning commission text into the local act for further readings.
What the proposal would do
• Compensatory fund: The proposed ordinance (legislative bill 2025‑011) would require…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
