Board raises deed‑research concern for commercial solar siting; county attorney to seek clarification with commissioners

Board members asked the Caroline County Burial Sites Preservation Board on Tuesday to press for more thorough deed research before commercial solar projects are sited, citing instances where developers did not discover burial sites during their reviews.

County Attorney Mr. Hammock warned that state law and recent case law limit county control over solar siting. He told the board the Maryland Supreme Court has held that the Public Service Commission’s authority to grant a CPCN (certificate of public convenience and necessity) can supersede local planning and zoning requirements; as a result, many solar siting decisions are ultimately subject to state review rather than local land‑use control.

Still, board members discussed several paths for action: asking the county commissioners to include a deed‑search requirement in the county’s solar ordinance update, asking commissioners to ask county delegates to propose a state legislative change, or requesting the county attorney to raise burial‑site concerns directly with the staff rewriting the county solar ordinance.

Mr. Hammock said he would raise the issue with the county attorney working on the solar ordinance and with commissioners and report back. Board members discussed drafting a letter to the county’s delegates asking that deed searches for burial sites be added to state checklists for solar applicants, but no formal motion to send such a letter was passed at the meeting.

The board agreed to pursue clarification and to consider formal recommendations after the county attorney reports back.