Shawnee County planning staff recommends town hall on proposed solar regulations; commission agrees to schedule public meeting

Shawnee County planning staff recommended a public town-hall meeting to gather input on proposed regulations for large-scale solar energy conversion systems, and the Planning Commission agreed to hold a public meeting as part of the review process.

Staff summarized outreach to county departments, fire chiefs and municipal planning staff and noted comments received on several subjects: which floodplain zones should be excluded, spacing within solar fields to allow fire-district access, and whether to allow battery storage (staff said proposed regulations currently did not allow battery storage). Staff also said environmental-health reviewers suggested setbacks from waterways to limit runoff risk and that a pilot-payment (PILOT) arrangement for tax payments should remain negotiable and not be made a permit condition.

To broaden input before a formal public hearing, staff recommended a town-hall format that would allow discussion and grouped public comments; staff proposed Oct. 13 for the town hall and suggested setting consistent speaker time limits (staff said 4 minutes is the Planning Commission standard used by the Board of County Commissioners). Commissioners discussed practical issues, including setting consistent time limits, limiting repeat testimony and possibly holding the event at a larger venue depending on turnout.

Commissioners signaled support for a town hall and staff said it would tentatively be scheduled and publicized; staff also noted that formal public hearing and consideration of any final regulations would likely occur later (staff suggested December or January as a possible timeline for the formal public hearing after town-hall feedback).