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Commissioners urge contractor courtesy after resident complaints about nighttime and weekend solar construction
Summary
Commissioners said they received multiple complaints about solar construction crews’ hours and behavior; county staff met with the solar developer, which reported trenching operations and pledged to address safety and communication issues. Commissioners urged residents to use the county complaint process with detailed information.
Howard County commissioners discussed several resident complaints about the conduct and hours of work at a local solar construction site and urged both the developer and residents toward clearer communication.
Commissioner Pam (first name not recorded) said some residents reported crews working late on Saturdays and asked the county to press the contractor to be more respectful of neighbors. County staff reported they had met with the developer the previous day and that the contractor said two open trenches required continuation for safety reasons; staff said the work involved trenching rather than pile-driving and therefore should not have been as loud as some residents reported.
Staff said the developer is trying to limit traffic conflicts at the site by directing traffic one way in and out and that they planned to address a reported miscommunication in a safety meeting the following morning about whether truck drivers should be treated like emergency vehicles.
Commissioners reiterated that the county has a formal complaints process and asked residents to submit detailed complaints so staff can investigate and follow up. Staff said they had received four or five complaints and were taking them seriously.
No formal enforcement action was taken at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to continue engagement with the developer and to follow up on specific complaints submitted through the county process.
