Shawnee County planning commission agrees to continue drafting solar regulations

The Shawnee County Planning Commission voted unanimously to continue drafting regulations for solar energy conversion systems during a work session on solar policy.

Planning staff said the work will focus on where countywide projects should be allowed, how to classify different types of solar installations and which requirements — conditional use permits, setbacks, size caps and floodplain restrictions — the commission should require before forwarding proposed regulations to the Board of County Commissioners (BCC).

The motion to continue discussion was made by Planning Commissioner Terry Robinson and seconded; the roll call vote was unanimous in favor. Planning staff emphasized that the session was a preliminary, legislative step to shape draft regulations, not a final decision on any particular project.

Joanie, planning staff, told commissioners the county will treat small, rooftop or on‑site systems for a single residence or business as "personal" systems and allow those by right under existing building‑permit procedures. Larger systems were described in three categories used as working definitions: personal (serving a single property), limited or community scale (collectives such as co‑ops, subdivisions or municipal projects) and commercial/utility scale (systems that sell to the broader grid). "My recommendation would be to recommend a conditional use permit on all of them," Joanie said, referring to non‑personal projects.

Staff proposed allowing limited/community and commercial solar projects in RA (rural…