Zoning committee adopts temporary 9‑month moratorium on solar and battery storage siting to draft county ordinance

The Sawyer County Zoning Committee adopted a temporary moratorium on the consideration or issuance of permits for solar energy systems and battery energy storage systems, setting the moratorium period at nine months to give staff and legal counsel time to research and draft a new county ordinance. Jay, the county zoning administrator, said the county has seen one earlier application and lacks a current local ordinance addressing siting, decommissioning, setbacks, visual buffers, stormwater, and decommissioning plans for larger solar or battery energy projects. He told the committee the moratorium would give staff time to assemble example ordinances from other counties and to work with county legal counsel. Rebecca, the county corporation counsel, explained that the moratorium must be treated as an ordinance and that the county may extend it if needed but should be prepared to justify extensions; she recommended a reasonable time frame for drafting and public review. Committee members discussed 6‑, 9‑ and 12‑month options and agreed nine months struck a balance of time for drafting and public input while limiting legal exposure. Linda Zilmer, an Edgewater property owner, asked the county to consider other emerging land‑use issues (the committee discussed telecommunications and data center inquiries as separate items). Jay said the county would still notify towns and provide drafts for input. The committee voted unanimously on a roll call to adopt the moratorium as a county ordinance with a nine‑month term. The moratorium does not itself adopt a new solar ordinance; it temporarily pauses county consideration of applications for solar systems and battery energy storage while staff and counsel draft and vet an ordinance for future adoption. The committee instructed staff to circulate drafts to town boards and to return with a proposed ordinance and public notice for county‑board consideration within the moratorium period.