Commissioners deny conditional rezoning for 40‑acre Mahler Family/ICAST community solar project after extended public hearing

The Iredell County Board of Commissioners on July 15 denied a conditional rezoning application to allow a 5‑megawatt community solar facility on about 40 acres of the Mahler family property along Wilkesboro Highway. The denial followed an extended public hearing in which neighbors, environmental groups, industry representatives and the applicant presented competing testimony.

County Planning and Zoning staffer Jake Lohman introduced the request as a conditional rezoning from Residential Agricultural (RA) to a Residential Agricultural Conditional District that would add a solar energy facility as an allowed use on approximately 40 acres (a portion of a larger 192‑acre parent parcel). Lohman said the applicant revised an earlier 192‑acre proposal to limit the facility to 40 acres, and that staff supported the request as consistent with the county’s land‑use rules for rural areas and with the 2045 Horizon Plan’s allowance for utility uses in certain tiers. He said the planning board recommended approval in a split 5–4 vote.

Finance for Impact representative Monica…