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Planning office reports 2024 permitting valuations; staff certified as floodplain manager; solar moratorium and utility-scale projects discussed
Summary
Planning staff presented 2024 permitting valuations, reported certification as a floodplain manager required by Indiana Senate Bill 0242, and discussed trends in housing, generators, and solar. Staff also noted the county's existing ban on future non-utility solar development and said utilities may develop projects under federal regulation.
Planning staff presented a summary of 2024 permitting activity and values, announced completion of state-required floodplain-manager certification under Indiana Senate Bill 0242, and fielded questions about solar, wind and utility-scale projects.
Tom told the commission he completed the state floodplain-manager course in March and that “we have a cert I'm a certified floodplain manager in the eyes of the state now.” He said Indiana Senate Bill 0242 requires people functioning as floodplain managers to be certified by June 30, 2025.
On permitting valuations, staff provided a spreadsheet that showed a total stated value for stick-built houses in 2024 of $10,901,000. Tom calculated that dividing that total by units yields an average value of about $302,821 per stick-built house, and noted that this range aligns with what developers are targeting. Staff also said they received an application with a stated house value of $1,914,000 on the day of the meeting.
Planning staff described trends in permit types: pole barns and storage facilities were active last year; residential generator and solar inquiries have increased, while wind inquiries have declined. One participant said the county has a “total ban” on future solar development (non-utility), while staff clarified that private utilities and cooperative utilities may still develop projects and that federally regulated utilities like Duke Energy can develop generation projects without county approval. Staff also referenced a state-level requirement tied to moratoria on solar, saying jurisdictions must provide additional information to the state when they adopt moratoria.
Staff said they will produce six-month updates and continue tracking permitting trends; no county policy changes were adopted at the meeting.
