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Planning staff previews contested 40-acre solar rezoning along Wilkesboro Highway
Summary
Iredell County planning staff said an applicant will seek to rezone 40 acres along Wilkesboro Highway to allow a solar energy facility; planning board recommended approval 5-4 amid roughly two dozen public opponents citing water, fire and erosion concerns. The item is scheduled for a public hearing at the county's 6:00 p.m. meeting.
Iredell County planning staff told the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that an applicant will ask to rezone 40 acres along Wilkesboro Highway to allow a solar energy facility, after reducing an earlier proposal that sought rezoning for a much larger portion of the parcel.
The request, described by planning staff Jake as a change "from residential agricultural to a conditional district, solely with the addition of the use of a solar energy facility," will be the subject of a public hearing at the board's 6:00 p.m. meeting. "Since the public input meeting, the applicant has reduced that to 40 acres on the west side of 115," Jake said, calling the revised footprint "a much smaller footprint for the solar facility."
The planning board recommended approval by a 5-4 vote, Jake said, but he also said about "25 or so folks" attended the planning-board meeting in opposition. Jake summarized the primary concerns raised: "water quality, fire hazard, noise, the erosion control, flood plain" and the site's proximity to Rocky Creek. He also said the split vote reflected both technical concerns and "the perception of solar in general." The applicant reduced the originally proposed 192-acre footprint to the current 40-acre proposal following public comment.
Jake said a family representing the landowner and the project will attend the 6:00 p.m. hearing to answer questions; no formal vote was taken at the pre-agenda session. The planning staff noted that neighbors and stakeholders continue to raise environmental and safety issues tied to the site's adjacency to Rocky Creek.
The board's public hearing later Tuesday will give the board a formal opportunity to hear testimony, ask staff questions and vote on the rezoning request.
