The Planning and Zoning Committee on Thursday recommended the county board send Lewis Creek Solar LLC’s conditional-use application back to the Zoning Board of Appeals for additional review, citing unresolved drainage and battery-siting issues.

The application seeks approval to build and operate a 50-megawatt AC commercial solar energy facility with a 10-megawatt AC battery-energy storage system. Committee members said the application’s site plan lacked sufficient detail about battery design and manufacturers, and raised concerns about a drainage tile running under the proposed battery location.

Committee members and staff said the parcel drains roughly 1,000 acres of surrounding land and that a historical drainage tile—described in the record as a roughly 21-inch tile installed about 1926—appears to run beneath the lowest portion of the parcel, immediately under the battery location. The committee and its engineers expressed concern about the consequences if that tile is damaged or clogged beneath battery equipment.

Staff recommended one of four options available to the county board: approve, approve with conditions, deny, or remand the application to the Zoning Board of Appeals for further fact-finding. The committee voted to recommend remanding the matter to the ZBA with specific engineering topics for further examination rather than granting final approval at the county level.

Committee members also asked that the variance tied to the project be considered together with the conditional-use application when it returns for review, and requested the resolution sent to the county board include explicit items for re-examination such as drainage mitigation, final battery specifications, and fencing/landscaping materials. A committee member noted tree roots from planted vegetation can seek subsurface water and might interact with old drain tile systems.

The committee recorded a vote in favor of the recommendation; members recorded as voting “yes” during roll call included Hughes, Barr, McGinnis, Whitlow and Tiger. The committee asked that retained outside engineers, including Clark Deetz, review the site-specific drainage issues and provide guidance before the county board acts.

No final county board decision was taken at the committee meeting. Committee members emphasized that approving the application at the county board level without resolving the drainage issue could result in designs that prove unworkable for the site.

The committee instructed staff to prepare a resolution for the county board that would remand the Lewis Creek application to the ZBA with a list of specific engineering and design questions for review.