Franklin County commissioners direct staff to pursue public hearing on commercial-scale renewable-energy ban

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously April 30 to direct staff to publish notice of a public hearing asking the Planning Commission to consider amending the county comprehensive plan and zoning regulations to implement a ban on commercial renewable-energy conversion systems.

The motion, made and seconded during the meeting, instructs staff to publish the required notice so the Planning Commission can review language and hold a public hearing. Commissioners said the Planning Commission process would allow a full airing of options and public comment before any final county decision.

Pat, a county planning staff member who described the scope of amendments that would be needed, told commissioners that a ban would require changes to both the comprehensive plan and the zoning code and that the planning process would provide multiple opportunities for public comment. “If there is interest from the County Commissioners you would need to direct staff to publish notice of a public hearing to have the Planning Commission consider and they would need to amend the zoning regulations,” Pat said.

Commissioners debated scope and limits during the discussion. Some commissioners stressed the difference between large, commercial projects that convert large tracts of agricultural land and small, on-site solar or rooftop systems owned by individual landowners. “At some point in there, there’s folks’ rights,” one commissioner said, urging care not to create unnecessary hurdles for reasonable private uses of property. Another commissioner said the Planning Commission and staff would “flesh out” what “commercial” would mean in practice.

The public-comment period earlier in the meeting included a statement from Norman Woogie of Ottawa, who criticized industrial-scale wind and solar and advocated nuclear power as an alternative. Woogie said wind turbine blades become landfill waste, that windmills leak oil during operation and that solar and wind “cluster our environment” when installed at industrial scale. Those comments were not a formal part of the county’s regulatory proceedings but were raised to the commissioners during public comment.

The motion passed on a recorded unanimous vote by the commissioners present at roll call: Miss Lottomar (present), Commissioner Weimar (present), Vice Chair Meador (present), Commissioner Dickinson (present) and Chair Harris (present). The board asked staff to prepare notice and materials for review by the Planning Commission; commissioners and staff said the Planning Commission review would include at least two public hearings and a formal recommendation back to the board.

Next steps are procedural: staff will publish notice for the Planning Commission public hearing and Pat and planning staff will bring draft language and options to planning commissioners for study sessions and public comment. The board acknowledged the additional workload for the Planning Commission and thanked that body in advance for handling the review.