Commissioners heard that the county’s planning commission is reviewing proposed amendments to the county’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance that would add rules for commercial renewable-energy projects. Commissioner David Mance, a member of the county commission, told the commission the planning panel recently held a special meeting and a public meeting to consider changes and has asked for a legal review before finalizing recommendations.
The planning commission “met with a special meeting, on last Monday … to move forward with plan to get the temporary hire … advertised and also to consider amendments to our subdivision and land development ordinance,” Commissioner Mance said. He added the public discussion focused on “revisions that would affect … commercial, renewable projects here in the county.”
Why it matters: the county currently has no specific regulations for industrial-scale wind projects and the draft would strengthen rules for solar projects, a county official said. Planning commissioners and the public have been debating whether and how to regulate large renewable installations; if the planning commission adopts an ordinance it could be forwarded to the county commission for formal consideration.
County officials described the next steps as a legal review at the planning commission level, completion of that review, revision if needed, and then a vote at the planning level on whether to send the measure to the county commission. “The plan is to finish that up as soon as possible and then get it back for [planning commission] review … and then they will vote on whether or not to move it up to the county commission for our consideration as well,” Commissioner Mance said.
During the public-comment period, a longtime county resident and frequent commentator, Michael Hayes, urged the commission and planning panel to adopt strong, targeted amendments to the ordinance and avoid protracted study or half measures. Hayes said survey responses and public meetings show broad opposition to industrial solar and wind: “Every single one of them … basically expressed an objection to industrial solar and wind,” he said.
The commission did not vote on any ordinance language at the Sept. 23 meeting; planning commissioners will complete the legal review and decide whether to forward a proposed ordinance for county action. County staff and planning officials told the commission they are trying to draft a countywide policy that would apply consistently across potential projects rather than tailor rules to a single pending proposal.
Background and context: Commissioners and planning staff said the amendments are intended to fill regulatory gaps (especially for wind projects) and to strengthen the county’s existing ability to regulate solar projects. Commissioners said they expect the planning commission to conduct outreach and deliberate further before sending any ordinance to the county commission.
The commission did not adopt any changes at this meeting; the planning commission’s pending legal review and subsequent vote remain the primary next steps.