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Stephenson County Board approves Florence Township 3.75 MW solar project over local objections
Summary
The county board approved a special-use permit for a 3.75-megawatt AC solar facility in Florence Township on a 27-acre portion of a 71.24-acre parcel, 11-4, after a zoning board recommendation and extended public debate about local control, environmental impacts and property rights.
Stephenson County board members voted 11-4 to approve a special-use permit for Florence Township Solar LLC to build a 3.75-megawatt AC solar facility on 27 acres of a 71.24-acre parcel at Van Brockland and Pearl City Road.
The Zoning Board of Appeals had recommended approval 4-0 with a condition that the site entrance be moved from Van Brockland Road to Pearl City Road; one of 21 adjacent landowners objected at the ZBA hearing. The county board’s vote followed more than an hour of discussion in which members and speakers raised concerns about local authority, environmental impacts and land use.
Board members who opposed the permit cited property impacts, the county’s inability under state law to limit the…
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