Lee County ZBA Hears Testimony on Mound Hill North and South Solar Special‑use Permits; Decision Continued to April 28

The Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing April 14 on special‑use permit applications from Mound Hill Road North Solar LLC and Mound Hill Road South Solar LLC to construct and operate commercial community solar arrays on parcels in Palmyra Township. The board heard expert testimony about market effects and engineering, presentations from the applicant, and objections from nearby residents and landowners; the board did not vote and scheduled a follow‑up meeting for April 28 to consider findings and a recommendation.

The hearing mattered because it pits county land‑use review against statewide siting rules and raises questions residents flagged as local: farmland preservation, property values, drainage and corrosion of driven posts, and proximity to the Midway Drive‑In Theater. The applicants argued the projects meet county and state standards, while residents urged the board to protect high‑quality farmland and nearby homes.

Thomas Marous, president of Marous and Company, testified for the petitioner as a market‑impact expert. "There's no negative value impact, in my opinion, based on the subject," Marous said, summarizing his review of sales, assessor interviews and match‑pair analyses from similar rural solar projects. Marous told the board he had prepared more than 200 market impact studies in his…