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Board approves 1-MW Fuller Gardens solar installation and comprehensive plan amendment
Summary
Sherburne County commissioners approved an interim use permit for a 1-megawatt solar facility on about 80 acres and amended the county comprehensive plan land-use map to allow private energy production on the site, subject to planning conditions.
The Sherburne County Board approved May 6 an interim use permit for a 1-megawatt solar energy installation proposed by Fuller Gardens LLC on roughly 80 acres in Clear Lake Township, and separately approved a related amendment to the county comprehensive plan land-use map to allow private energy production at the site.
County planning staff told the board the Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval with standard conditions (such as setbacks, decommissioning assurances and screening). The project sits in the agricultural district inside an orderly annexation area with the city of Clear Lake, and the applicant agreed to the 20 conditions recommended by staff and the commission.
Commissioners noted the project can provide landowners rental income while preserving the broader property and that local review is intended to manage visual impacts, setbacks and eventual decommissioning. "This represents a way for local landowners to preserve generational investment," one commissioner said during discussion.
The approvals require conditions to be satisfied before and during operation, and staff will monitor compliance and decommissioning assurances as required by county policy.
