Property owners urge county to stop litigation and allow Brookliff solar project to proceed

Residents affected by the Brookliff solar project urged the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to stop contesting the project and allow construction to move forward.

Stuart Sloane, a nearby landowner, told the board the county’s civil suit against the developer is harming families who seek income to maintain historic properties. “The Brookcliff solar project is a good thing for our family and our historic home and adjacent parcels,” Sloane said, asking commissioners to check with county counsel about the rationale for continued opposition.

Donna Wallace said the property owners had already relocated to accommodate the planned entrance to the project and described the county’s back-and-forth approvals and appeals as ‘‘a battle for the last several years.” She urged commissioners to “let us go on with this thing,” saying the project would provide clean energy and tax benefits and that many investors have already committed funds.

Speakers framed the project as passive and low-impact. Sloane described it as “passive, quiet, odorless” and largely unseen from public roads, and he said alternative uses for the land would have more visible impacts. Wallace added that solar development would provide “clean energy” for future generations and could bring federal and state tax credits to the county.

Commissioners did not take a public vote or announce a policy change on the litigation during the meeting. Several speakers asked the county to explain the basis for the lawsuit and to permit the project to move forward; the board referenced counsel in later closed-session remarks but did not disclose advice on the record.

The Brookliff remarks came during the public-comment period; no formal rebuttal or motion was recorded on the matter during the open session.