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Morrow County planning director flags surge in solar proposals; board to discuss state LCDC rules April 30
Summary
Planning director Tamara Mabbit told commissioners the county has permitted large solar projects on roughly 2,400 acres and the state has permitted far larger projects; county staff will bring a proposed comment letter on new Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) rules to the board’s April 30 special session for further direction.
Tamara Mabbit, Morrow County’s planning director, briefed commissioners on an increase in utility‑scale solar proposals and on recently adopted Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) administrative rules that affect farm and exclusive farm use lands.
"Over the past number of years, prior to my returning 5 years ago, Morrow County's permitted 2,400 acres or 300 megawatts of solar," Mabbit said, adding that state agencies have approved roughly 28,000 acres of projects statewide. She told the board she had received informal notice of another 12,000‑13,000 acre application potentially arriving later this year.
Mabbit described regulatory and planning work she has participated in involving the Oregon Department of Energy, Renewable Northwest and state working groups on electricity generation, and she noted there is limited experience with solar retirement and decommissioning standards: "Nobody knows what solar retirement will look like because none of them have been retired yet," she said.
Mabbit said the county is implementing mandatory LCDC rule updates related to exclusive farm use and replacement dwelling evaluation and that staff will return with a code update. She also asked the board to consider a planned comment letter to LCDC and state staff focused on cumulative impacts and the scale of projects in Morrow County.
Commissioners agreed to continue action on a proposed county comment letter until a special meeting on April 30, when the board will discuss solar siting, tax and transmission implications and will meet with state representatives and project design staff. Commissioner Justin (surname not provided) said he favored holding the letter until the April 30 session to allow a fuller discussion; Chair Dave Sykes confirmed Department of Revenue and DLR Group representatives are expected to attend.
Mabbit also updated the board on other planning items: Pine Gate mitigation rulemaking, the Columbia River Heritage Trail public survey (survey open through May 1), implementation of water advisory committee initiatives, and local transportation planning for Tower Road interchange work led by ODOT.
