Vermillion County commissioners adopt temporary moratorium on commercial solar projects, extend to one year

The Vermillion County Board of Commissioners voted on Sept. 8 to enact a temporary moratorium on new commercial solar projects in the county and amended the draft ordinance to extend the moratorium from six months to one year.

The move followed more than an hour of public comment from residents urging a pause. Several residents asked the commissioners to adopt a one-year moratorium, and Eileen Mahan, commander of American Legion Post 108 in St. Bernice, urged that any developer money be directed to directly impacted residents if projects proceed. "We would like to have money earmarked specifically for Saint Bernice residents," she said during public comment.

The ordinance before the board (Ordinance No. 2025-14) would bar filing, processing and acceptance of permits for commercial solar projects in Vermillion County for the moratorium period while the Area Plan Commission (APC) reviews and, if necessary, revises the county Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) as it applies to such projects. The ordinance explicitly exempts solar panels installed on privately owned residential property.

Commissioners said they altered the draft to allow the APC additional time. Joel, speaking as an APC member, told the board the APC is already busy with proposed zoning work on carbon-sequestration projects and that a year would be more prudent than six months: "When we did our UDO revision, we probably spent a year. Would that be about right? Maybe more so." The board then approved an amendment to change the moratorium length to one year.

County attorney John (first name not recorded in the transcript) advised that if the board did not achieve a unanimous vote on the ordinance’s first reading, the board could not finalize the ordinance at that meeting and would need to bring it back for a second reading. The record indicates the motion to amend and approve passed by majority vote but was not unanimous; the attorney instructed the commissioners to place the item on the agenda for the required second reading. The transcript does not record which commissioner, if any, formally abstained.

Why this matters: county leaders said the pause will give the APC time to draft and recommend measurable zoning and land-use regulations for large commercial solar projects. Residents and community organizations — including speakers who requested decommissioning funds or community benefits — told commissioners that protections and financial assurances are needed if utility-scale projects are permitted in or near towns such as St. Bernice.

Next steps: The board amended the draft ordinance to one year and approved it by majority vote on first reading; the measure will return for the mandatory second reading and final adoption process, at which point the moratorium will take effect if the ordinance is carried on final passage or otherwise timely adopted per county procedures.

Direct quotes in this report are from the public record at the Sept. 8, 2025 Vermillion County commissioners meeting.