Montezuma County planning commission recommends denial of Canyonland Solar permit after hours of public comment

The Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to recommend denial of a high-impact special-use permit for the proposed Canyonland Solar project, a utility-scale photovoltaic proposal sited on roughly 960 acres near Goodman Point.

The vote follows a public hearing in Cortez that included a planning-department summary of agency comments, a presentation by the applicant, Canyonland Solar LLC (a subsidiary of UV Inc.), and more than two hours of public comment from neighbors and other county residents. Commissioners Armstrong, Lynch and Doyle voted to recommend denial to the Board of County Commissioners.

The developer and planning staff gave differing technical summaries during the hearing. Planning staff described materials in the county file that characterize the proposal as a roughly 140-megawatt facility occupying about 960 acres of primarily agricultural land and noted agency review comments were on file. David Kimmett, manager of planning for UV, described the submission as a 40-megawatt photovoltaic facility during his presentation and said the proposal does not include battery energy storage. Kimmett said the project would connect to the existing Tri-State transmission system and that panel arrays would be mounted on tracking racks with 590-watt panels.

Why it matters: Commissioners framed the decision around the county land-use code and zoning. Commissioners and many public speakers said the project would change long-standing agricultural use on Goodman Point, raise concerns about water use and dust during construction, and risk wildlife and archaeological impacts near Canyons of the Ancients. The planning commission’s recommendation sends the application to the Board of County Commissioners with the commission’s formal opposition.

Most important facts

- Proposal and site: County staff and the applicant said the…