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Lee County committee sends contested church petition to executive committee amid solar project amendments
Summary
A Lee County committee voted to forward a contested petition for a religious use (25P1651) to the executive committee for placement on the county board agenda while county staff and commissioners discussed amendments to several Pivot Energy community solar permits and appointments in the zoning office.
A Lee County committee voted to send petition 25P1651, a request related to a religious use at 174 Rocky Ford Road in Sublette, to the executive committee for inclusion on the county board agenda.
Alice, zoning staff, told the committee that petition 25P1651 “was petitioning for a church” and that the zoning hearing officer recommended denial after a roughly two-hour hearing in which the hearing officer concluded the proposed use “is not what the use is gonna be.” Alice said about 40 to 50 members of the public attended and that “all of the people that got up, spoke in opposition to this petition.”
The committee also discussed three petitions from Pivot Energy (25P1654, 25P1655 and 25P1658) previously granted special use permits for community solar systems in August. Alice said one petition (25P1658) is being rescinded because the developer “did not get an interconnection agreement,” and another (25P1655) seeks to expand its footprint from 22.34 acres to 29.98 acres. Alice described a proposed amendment to allow an accessory battery energy storage system for petition 25P1654 and said the footprint change for 25P1655 would shift project components further from a nearby residential subdivision.
Committee member Chris Norberg asked whether a moratorium applied to batteries; Alice responded that “that’s specific to stand alone battery energy. . . . The current state siting standards allow battery energy storage so long as it’s accessory to an existing system.” The committee and Alice agreed that the footprint increase constitutes a major amendment and should return to a public hearing so the public can comment.
The committee also announced staffing changes in the zoning office: Alice said “we are pleased to announce that Brian Brim has been appointed as the full time zoning hearing officer for the county.” She identified Gary Galbach as an alternate zoning hearing officer and named additional alternates to serve when needed.
A motion to move petition 25P1651 to the executive committee was made and seconded; the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The motion was recorded as carried.
The committee did not vote on the Pivot Energy amendments; Alice said the amendments will proceed through the zoning hearing and public hearing processes as required.
