Caroline commissioners introduce pay‑review commission bill and advance solar/battery zoning changes; move to seek higher farmland preservation contribution

Caroline County commissioners introduced two legislative bills on Sept. 9: one to create a county Compensation Review Commission and another to revise the county's zoning rules for solar facilities and battery energy storage devices following state law changes.

The board voted to introduce legislative bill 2025‑009, which would establish a Compensation Review Commission to study and recommend salaries and allowances for county commissioners. County staff said the current compensation provision has not been revised since 2009 and that the commission would follow a process described in the Maryland Local Government Article (section 10‑302). The bill timeline presented by staff called for public notice and a public hearing the week of Sept. 16 with a potential third reading and final action the week of Sept. 23; the ordinance would take effect Nov. 8 if adopted. The motion to introduce 2025‑009 carried on a voice vote.

Solar and battery storage zoning

County staff also presented a comprehensive draft zoning amendment (legislative bill 2025‑010) prepared to align Caroline County's ordinances with the state's Renewable Energy Certainty Act and related statutory requirements for energy storage devices. The draft implements several mandatory state provisions and retains local rules for smaller projects that the state did not preempt.

Staff highlighted these elements: - Projects larger than the state threshold are subject to the statutory requirements in the state law and the county's draft adds local procedures that follow that framework. - The draft requires battery energy storage installations to be "installed and inspected in accordance with" the most recent published edition of NFPA 855 (the National Fire Protection Association standard for stationary energy storage systems). Staff said this would allow the county to rely on a recognized technical standard for safety and emergency planning. - For solar facilities of 1 megawatt or less (a category the state did not explicitly regulate), staff proposed retaining Caroline County's existing local siting, setback and decommissioning standards. That retained authority is intended to allow the county to continue applying local design controls to small commercial arrays. - The draft also proposed a compensatory preservation contribution tied to the appraised fair‑market value of cropland taken out of production; staff described the draft formula as 50 percent of the appraised value per acre using the state agricultural easement settlement process as the valuation basis.

Commissioner debate, amendments and next steps

Commissioner Larry Porter, Commissioner Jay Travis Breeding and Commissioner Ben Franklin Bartz took part in a wide-ranging discussion that included safety concerns about battery storage and how to secure funding and equipment for fire companies. Commissioner Bartz expressed strong reservations about battery storage safety and said he would not support installing systems that, in his view, endanger first responders; he said he wanted explicit safety and suppression requirements and suggested that developers be required to support local fire departments with equipment and training.

After discussion the commissioners voted to introduce the solar/battery zoning bill and instructed staff to pursue four specific amendment directions: 1) increase the compensatory preservation contribution from 50 percent to 100 percent of the appraised fair‑market value used in the state agricultural easement settlement process; 2) add a fire department equipment and training fee or requirement to the battery energy storage provisions; 3) remove the county's 2,000‑acre cap for aggregated small solar projects (section reference in the draft); and 4) amend the zoning table of uses to reflect the permitted districts described in the bill.

The motion to introduce the bill and to forward these amendment directions passed on a voice vote. Commissioners asked staff to verify NFPA 855 references (the 2023 edition is currently published; a 2026 edition is expected in future cycles) and to draft precise language to require specific suppression and response equipment for county review and for inclusion in the ordinance.

Why it matters

The zoning bill is the county's response to state‑level changes that streamline approvals for certain renewable energy facilities while leaving narrower projects (1 MW and below) under local control. The proposed compensatory preservation contribution is intended to generate funds to offset the loss of agricultural land to arrays; commissioners favored increasing the contribution to make preservation more viable locally. The battery storage debate focused on firefighter safety, emergency response and who would pay for additional training and equipment.

Formal actions recorded

- Legislative bill 2025‑009 (Compensation Review Commission): introduced and moved forward (voice vote; no numerical roll call recorded). Staff presented timing for public notice, hearings and potential enactment with an anticipated effective date of Nov. 8 if adop ted.

- Legislative bill 2025‑010 (Solar energy and battery storage zoning): introduced and advanced with four amendment directions (listed above). The board directed staff to return with draft amendment language and to work with planning staff and the technical advisory committee on the table‑of‑uses changes.

Ending note: process and outreach

Staff said the bills will be advertised and scheduled for public hearings in accordance with the county's legislative calendar and that planning staff will work with legal counsel, local fire companies and other county departments to draft the amendment language and to vet NFPA 855 compliance details in the ordinance.