Elbert County planning commission votes 7-2 to recommend denial of Sundance Solar 1041 permit and special-use review

The Elbert County Planning Commission on April 22, 2025 voted 7-2 to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners deny both the Sundance Solar Major 1041 permit (1041-2024-1310) and the Sundance Solar Special Use by Review (SUR20240028).

The commission’s vote followed a multi-hour continuation of a hearing on a proposed utility-scale solar project by Sundance Solar LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cypress Creek Renewables. Commissioners and county staff reviewed written stipulations the planning commission asked the applicant to address, and heard presentations from company representatives and local emergency responders. Major topics during deliberations included financial assurances and decommissioning, visual screening and berming, fencing and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recommendations for wildlife fencing, mapping and avoidance of archaeological and paleontological sites, firefighting response and monitoring technology, road-use agreements and community benefit proposals.

Commissioners and staff had circulated a written memo before the hearing listing items the applicant was asked to provide or clarify, including financial statements demonstrating the project sponsor’s capability, photo simulations and potential video simulations of screening, a shape file showing cultural-resource boundaries and buffers, a proposed amount and update schedule for a decommissioning financial guarantee, and suggested conditions such as a community benefits agreement, prohibition on on-site well drilling without county approval, and requirements related to wildlife cameras and fire mitigation.

Company representatives said they had provided audited financial statements for the sponsor and an entity organizational chart and described the project financing structure. Peter Moritzburg, vice president of development for Cypress Creek Renewables’ Western Region, said audited statements were available for 2022 and 2023 but “2024 is not available at this time,” and explained at a high level that projects typically are financed by a mix of sponsor equity, tax equity and debt. He said the developer would post the decommissioning bond the county requires at construction and that the commitments made at financial close are durable for the life of a project.

Zach (company representative) said the sponsor has spent roughly "$3,500,000 to date" on the project and that Sundance Solar would conform to county requirements for a decommissioning bond to be updated every five years. Jennifer Hyer, environmental affairs director for Cypress Creek’s Western Region, said the company had designed security fencing in consultation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and that CPW had recommended 8-foot chain-link fencing and sliding gates to reduce wildlife entrapment; Cypress Creek said it would coordinate further with CPW about fence height and color.

Captain Chris Gay of Kiowa Fire said current response times from the staffed south station were about "7 and a half minutes," and about 12–14 minutes from the unmanned north station depending on volunteer availability.

Several commissioners said the application’s current packet and the project’s 30% site design left outstanding concerns. Commissioners repeatedly requested a definitive cultural-resource overlay showing the project layout and the full archaeological boundary from the consultant Metcalfe; company witnesses said an updated KMZ boundary was expected from the cultural consultant and that they would provide an overlay to the commission when available. The planning commission asked for firm, recorded commitments on items that the applicant and CPW had described as recommendations; Cypress Creek’s representatives said CPW recommendations were included in the current site plan and that the company was committed to not building on the culturally sensitive avoidance areas.

After discussion the planning commission considered a staff list of recommended conditions that had been provided and supplemented during the meeting. The staff list recorded items the planning commission could include as conditions for any recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners, including: recordation of required documents; posting and maintenance of a decommissioning financial security for the life of the project (to be reviewed every five years); execution of all leases necessary for the applicant’s proposed operation; consideration and submittal of improved landscaping and screening including potential berms and a landscaping plan to the Board of County Commissioners; a prohibition on on-site well drilling without express county approval; and a minimum 50-foot buffer around the five recommended avoidance areas identified in the cultural-resource survey.

After debate, the planning commission took roll-call votes. On the Major 1041 permit motion to recommend approval with conditions, the roll call produced two votes in favor and seven votes against, so the motion failed and the commission recorded a recommendation of denial to the Board of County Commissioners. On the Special Use by Review (SUR) matter the commission separately voted to recommend denial by the same 7–2 margin.

What’s next: The planning commission’s votes are advisory; the Board of County Commissioners will take final action. Staff and the applicant said they expect to provide several of the requested materials before a BOCC hearing, including the updated cultural KMZ overlay, a road-use agreement draft from public works, and specific financial-security figures tied to the Kimley-Horn decommissioning estimate. Cypress Creek also said it would provide a split of the estimated project property tax revenues (the company cited an estimate of $9.8 million over the project life) and outlined an ongoing scholarship program and willingness to negotiate a community benefits agreement.

Votes at a glance

- Sundance Solar Major 1041 permit (1041-2024-1310): Motion (to recommend approval with conditions) failed; roll-call: 2 in favor, 7 opposed. Planning Commission outcome: recommendation of denial to the Board of County Commissioners. Mover/second: not specified in the record. Key conditions discussed: decommissioning financial security with five-year updates; recordation of applicable documents; execution of all leases necessary for operation; improved landscaping/screening including berms; prohibition on on-site well drilling without county approval; 50-foot buffers around recommended cultural avoidance areas.

- Sundance Solar Special Use by Review (SUR20240028): Planning Commission motion to recommend denial passed on roll call, 7–2. Mover/second: not specified in the record.

Speakers quoted

- Peter Moritzburg, vice president, Cypress Creek Renewables: "2024 is not available at this time" (referring to audited financial statements) and described project financing as a mix of sponsor equity, tax equity and debt.

- Zach (Cypress Creek representative): "we have spent about $3,500,000 to date."

- Jennifer Hyer, environmental affairs director, Cypress Creek Renewables: explained the company’s fencing decisions and said they would coordinate further with CPW about color and height.

- Captain Chris Gay, Kiowa Fire: "Our current response time from our staff station is about 7 and a half minutes."

Discussion versus decision

- Discussion: extensive. Commissioners raised unresolved issues on cultural-resource mapping, visual screening and berming, fence height and wildlife protection, explicit written commitments to CPW recommendations, scope and timing of decommissioning financial security, and road-use agreement terms.

- Direction/assignment: staff indicated it would follow up with public works on a road-use agreement draft; Cypress Creek agreed to provide the updated cultural KMZ overlay and to coordinate with CPW on fence and screening options; staff said it would review the Kimley-Horn decommissioning estimate and advise on the appropriate bond amount.

- Formal action: the commission recorded a 7–2 recommendation against both the Major 1041 permit and the SUR; these recommendations will be placed before the Board of County Commissioners for final action.

Clarifying details

- Applicant ownership: Sundance Solar LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cypress Creek (company provided audited 2022 and 2023 financial statements for parent entities; 2024 statements not yet available).

- Project spending: applicant reported roughly $3,500,000 expended to date on development activities.

- Decommissioning: staff and applicant referenced a Kimley-Horn decommissioning cost estimate and discussed updating a bond every five years; staff said the county will ensure decommissioning costs will not be county obligations.

- Cultural resources: applicant used a KMZ from cultural consultant Metcalfe for initial site design; Metcalfe provided an updated memo and the applicant said it would provide the full cultural KMZ overlay in a 1-on-1 protected setting and incorporate avoidance buffers into the site plan.

- Fire response times: Kiowa Fire south station approximately 7.5 minutes; north (unmanned) station approximately 12–14 minutes depending on volunteer response.

Proper names

- Sundance Solar LLC (business/project) - Cypress Creek Renewables (business) - McCarthy Building Companies (EPC/contractor) - Colorado Parks and Wildlife (agency) - Kiowa Fire (fire district) - Kimley-Horn (consultant) - Metcalfe (cultural resources consultant) - Elbert County (government)

Searchable tags

[sundance-solar, cypress-creek, elbert-county, 1041-permit, special-use-review, cultural-resources, decommissioning-bond, CPW, fire-safety, planning-commission]

provenance:

The transcript evidence for this article appears in the hearing record beginning where the commission resumed the Sundance Solar deliberation and read the April 17 memo of requested items (transcript excerpt) and concluding with the roll-call votes and the commission’s announcement that it had a 7–2 recommendation (transcript excerpt).