Lee County committee forwards two Mound Hill Road solar petitions to zoning board, approves multiple routine transportation and zoning actions

The Lee County Executive Committee voted to forward two community solar petitions on Mound Hill Road to the Zoning Board of Appeals and approved several routine departmental items during its meeting.

Palmyra Township resident Nick Hermes urged the committee to oppose the solar projects and raised concerns tied to farmland program restrictions and federal tax rules. "They're gonna put, 13,000 solar panel farm. With a 40,000 panel solar farm on the north piece," Hermes said, adding that portions of the land are enrolled in a farm program he believes carries obligations that should be resolved before commercial development proceeds.

Alice, Lee County zoning staff member, told the committee the two petitions—25P1639 (Mound Hill Road North Solar) and 25P1640 (Mound Hill Road South Solar)—each encompass 67.29 acres of property on the east side of Mound Hill Road north of Route 2. The north project will occupy about 35 acres once completed, and the south project about 19–20 acres. She said the petitions will go to the Zoning Board of Appeals; a hearing was announced for April 3 at 7 p.m.

Committee members offered no extended debate before voting to send both petitions to the executive committee for placement on the county board agenda. The committee also moved a related zoning code text amendment (25PC78) forward; planning commission members had recommended edits to add provisions on the use, term limits and oversight of a proposed zoning hearing officer.

Beyond the zoning items, the committee approved a set of transportation and procurement actions the highway department requested. Those included providing the county engineer authority to sign state joint-purchase contracts for rock salt, forwarding a county engineer salary appropriation resolution to the county board, and awarding construction bids (highway staff noted Martin and Company won a federally let overlay project at about $698,000). Highway Commissioner Dave Anderson described the salt authorization as a routine step required by the state purchasing program.

Other departmental updates taken as information included: an electronics recycling program restarting April 1 in Amboy; assessor's office timing for rolling assessment files into the 2025 year and staffing changes among township assessors; county efforts to reapply for a community-funded federal grant for a new highway facility; broadband permit activity around the county; the county clerk's early-voting and vote-by-mail totals; and planned changes to commercial building plan review requirements.

Committee actions were largely procedural and passed by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tallies announced in the meeting minutes. The committee adjourned after moving the items listed below to the county board agenda and other administrative follow-ups.