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Plan Commission recommends one-year moratorium on certain non‑URC electric generating facilities
Summary
The Monroe County Plan Commission on a unanimous vote forwarded a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners for a one-year moratorium on certain electric-generating facilities not regulated by the Utilities Regulatory Commission and supported a waiver of final hearing.
The Monroe County Plan Commission voted unanimously, 8-0, to forward a favorable recommendation to the Monroe County Board of Commissioners for ZOA-25-4, an amendment intended to implement a temporary, one-year moratorium on certain electric-generating facilities not regulated by the Utilities Regulatory Commission (URC). The commission also recommended waiving a final hearing so the board may consider the amendment.
County legal staff described the ordinance as implementing authority provided by recent state legislation (referred to in the packet as SEA 4 25) that allows counties to pause establishment of certain electric-generating facilities for up to a year while local officials assess potential local regulatory responses. “This is one of the many interesting changes that the legislature has given us to deal with this year,” said Dave Schilling of the County Legal Department. Schilling said that facilities regulated by the Utilities Regulatory Commission generally are not subject to local zoning, and the draft amendment therefore targets non‑URC facilities.
Commissioners discussed the scope of the proposed pause. One commissioner with a utilities background said the pause was appropriate because the changes are proceeding quickly at the state level. Commissioner David Henry asked whether the draft would prevent construction of ordinary substations; legal staff said the statute’s language is vague and the county does not have explicit direction from the state on all points, but that substations governed by the URC would not be subject to local zoning. Commissioner Julie Thomas asked for and received confirmation from staff that the draft ordinance specifically excludes wind and solar generation.
The plan commission’s favorable recommendation directs the Board of Commissioners to consider a temporary moratorium (initially adopted outside the County Development Ordinance) that the county expects to reflect in the CDO in the future if the board adopts it. The recommendation and the waiver of the final hearing passed 8-0.
