Development committee backs Anomite Solar special-use permit for Nestler Road site

The Kane County Development Committee on Aug. 19 recommended approval of zoning petition 4664, allowing Anomite Solar LLC to build a commercial solar energy facility north of the railroad tracks west of Nestler Road in Plato Township. The committee’s recommendation follows a Zoning Board of Appeals review and staff analysis that included environmental, historic-preservation and wildlife reviews and a new stipulation requiring vegetative screening along the western border of the project. Natalie Zine, planning staff, told the committee the project site lies mostly in farming (F) zoning and in the county’s resource-management future land use area. She said the proposed facility “meets all of the required setbacks” and that the ZBA added stipulation 13 to require “a continuous line of evergreen trees along the western side of the facility with a minimum planting height of 5 feet and a maximum separation distance of 15 feet on center.” Nadim Damien, senior development manager at Cultivate Power and the project manager for Anomite Solar, said the developer met with nearby residents and agreed to the enhanced landscaping. “We’re actively in conversations with a few local nurseries to sort of better understand how we can go above and beyond that minimum height requirement of 5 feet,” Damien said. Staff reported routine comments from agencies: the soil-and-water conservation NRI placed the site in a low-protection category (LE score 29, SA 32); the State Historic Preservation Office found the project exempt from archaeological survey; ECOCAT provided standard recommendations including pollinator-friendly ground cover; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded the project “would have no effect on federally listed species” and required no further consultation. Transportation review noted Nestler Road is under Plato Township jurisdiction and the existing access was acceptable; the Pingree Grove Countryside Fire Protection District requested confirmation that the access road could support 60,000-pound apparatus, which will be addressed during permitting. Zoning staff also noted the applicant anticipates a Level 2 wetlands delineation and coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the stormwater and building permit process. An executed AMAA (Agreements for Managed Agricultural Access/decommissioning) was filed; staff said it requires the site to return to agricultural use or another approved purpose after decommissioning. The committee voted to forward the petition to the full Kane County Board with a recommendation for approval under the ZBA’s stipulations. The board will consider the petition at its Sept. 9 meeting. Less critical details: staff noted a previously approved Nestler Road solar project to the east has not yet applied for building permits; the new Anomite project is more than 900 feet from the nearest subdivision to the west, Oak Ridge Farm, per staff maps.