Public urges continuation of renewable-energy moratorium as county attorney moves to revise solar regulations

During public comment at the Oct. 7, 2025 Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners meeting, Cortez resident Eleanor McFarland urged officials to continue a moratorium on renewable-energy applications until the county publishes a formal update to the land-use code and completes required public hearings.

McFarland said draft language presented at a Sept. 22 workshop showed “a good start” but urged the board to avoid any language that could allow unintended workarounds by developers; she said the moratorium should remain in place until the public has access to the official updated code language and hearings are finished. McFarland also referenced a prior county resolution in her remarks.

County Attorney Attorney Tarnowski reported he is working with planning staff to finish revised solar regulations and is reviewing several state-level changes enacted in 2024 that are beginning to take effect. Tarnowski listed several state-driven items under review, including implementation questions around the wildfire-urban interface (WUI) code, a state-proposed turf ban, and changes that affect local responsibilities for licensing certain businesses. He told commissioners that some of those items could create increased local responsibilities and that staff will coordinate with local fire protection districts and other partners to determine what notice or actions the county must take.

Tarnowski said the county will return proposed land-use language to the board after planning staff completes the revisions and that those drafts will be subject to the public-notice and hearing process required under county procedure. No formal vote was taken on the moratorium during the meeting.