Reno County commissioners decline to impose commercial solar rules in unzoned areas, 3–2

Hutchinson, Kan. — The Reno County Board of Commissioners voted 3–2 on May 1 to leave unzoned portions of the county without specific regulations for commercial or industrial solar projects, rejecting a proposed referral to the Planning and Zoning Commission for broader public hearings and rulemaking.

The vote preserves the status quo for the countys unzoned areas: commercial-scale solar developers will not face county-level overlay regulations in those parts of the county unless a future petition or separate zoning action is initiated. Commissioners Randy Parks, Ron Vincent and a third commissioner voted in favor of leaving the unzoned designation unchanged; Commissioners Ron Hurst and Don Bogner voted against the motion.

Supporters of the motion argued that many residents in unzoned areas chose to live there to avoid additional land-use regulations and that spot or partial zoning could lead to repeated requests for piecemeal regulation. Opponents said the county owed residents a formal public hearing process through Planning and Zoning to consider an overlay that many landowners had requested for protections related to siting, soil and water safeguards, and long-term site remediation.

During the discussion, commissioners and other speakers raised several recurring points:

- Local autonomy and property rights: Several commissioners emphasized that property owners who bought land in unzoned areas expect fewer land-use restrictions and that…