Montezuma County adopts six-month moratorium on new utility-scale solar applications
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Summary
The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-0 to pause acceptance of new utility-scale solar applications for six months while staff and commissioners draft detailed land-use standards; the county will not pause processing of an existing pending application.
Montezuma County commissioners on April 8 voted unanimously to adopt a six-month moratorium on accepting new applications for utility-scale solar projects while the county develops specific land-use criteria for such developments.
The board’s county attorney, Steven Tarnowski, told the meeting the moratorium is intended as temporary legislative action to allow staff and commissioners to craft standards that address visual impacts, decommissioning, financial assurances and road use during construction. "This discussion today is really about the application of the Land Use Code, potential changes to the Land Use Code, [and] the pause that's being considered in accepting new applications," Tarnowski said during the hearing.
The moratorium, as clarified on the record, will pause acceptance of new applications but not halt processing of the single large-scale application already filed with county planning staff. Commissioner Jim Lindsay moved to adopt the six-month moratorium; the motion was seconded and the board voted "Aye" three times to approve the measure.
Why it matters: Commissioners said they want to avoid rushed decisions after developers submit extensive proposals and to ensure county rules address decommissioning bonds, road impacts and protection of farmland and wildlife. Chair Gerald Candelaria said the pause will let the county “get our language in the land use code to where we can make sure that this county is taken care of into the future.”
Public comment at the hearing was extensive and mixed. Several residents urged a pause to permit time for study and safeguards. "There are so many reasons to take the extra time to address all utility scale solar as a land use," said Eleanor McFarland of Cortez, reading a letter supporting a six-month moratorium that asked for uniform panel-height rules, vegetation management and financial assurance for decommissioning. James Cowan, a parent of school-aged children, supported review of the code but asked that the board not retroactively block an application in process: "I support this review of the land use code, but not for applications that are in process if it would really mean that those projects couldn't be supported," he said.
Representatives of the applicant that currently has an active application also addressed the commissioners. David Kimmitt, representing UVI, said his company has been working with the county for several years and urged the board not to change the rules in a way that would invalidate lengthy work already submitted. "The current regime as it stands is a good one," he said, while acknowledging moratoria are allowable under state law.
Several people warned of potential harms from large projects: impacts to farmland and wildlife, visual effects near recreation areas, and road wear during construction. Others urged the board to move quickly so the county does not miss potential tax revenue. The Khosah Institute and other presenters offered to help the county draft regulations and urged a strict deadline to lift the moratorium — recommending six months, citing Mesa County’s recent four-month process as an example.
What the moratorium does and does not do: The board voted to prohibit acceptance of new utility-scale solar applications for six months while staff prepares proposed ordinance language. The board clarified the moratorium will not halt review of the single already-filed application; commissioners directed the county attorney to draft a resolution for the board to adopt at its next regular meeting that implements the moratorium as discussed.
Votes at a glance - Motion: Adopt six-month moratorium on acceptance of new utility-scale solar applications (not to pause an existing pending application). Mover: Commissioner Jim Lindsay. Second: Commissioner Koppenhaver. Vote: 3-0 in favor. Outcome: approved.
Context and next steps: Commissioners asked staff and counsel to draft text for a moratorium resolution and return it at the next regular meeting. Multiple public commenters left written materials with the clerk and recorder for the record. Commissioners and staff said they expect to use the six-month window to review sample ordinances from other counties, consider decommissioning and bonding requirements, and determine how to address agricultural lands, wildlife habitat and road impacts.
