Reno County planning commissioners debate draft Article 26 for commercial solar, focus on decommissioning and project limits

Reno County planning commissioners continued a months-long review of proposed rules for commercial solar energy systems on Dec. 19, 2024, focusing discussion on decommissioning requirements, financial sureties and possible project-size limits.

The draft, identified in the meeting as Case 2023-10, would create Article 26 of the Reno County zoning regulations to govern commercial solar projects and a linked planning commission resolution listing topics the county would recommend for developer agreements. Planning staff presented a revised packet and a draft resolution that moves many topics from the regulations into a resolution that the county commission would consider when negotiating developer agreements.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the rules will determine what developers must do at the end of a project'for example, removing equipment and restoring ground'and how the county protects taxpayers and landowners if a project is abandoned. The debate touched on which items should be mandatory regulatory requirements, which should be suggested items in a resolution for county commissioners, and which items could be handled as conditions in conditional use permits.

Staff update and redraft plans

Planning staff told the board the packet included a draft regulation and a draft planning commission resolution that contains items previously in Article 26 but moved into the resolution for clarity and to avoid making every item a regulatory "shall." Staff said they highlighted more complex suggested changes for commissioner review and that the resolution is intended to list items the county commission could consider in developer agreements. "Those are items that were previously in the regulations and they were taken out of the regulations and put it into this resolution format," staff said during the presentation.

Commissioners asked staff to rework language they said was causing confusion: two paragraphs of the current draft mix mandatory language ("shall") for…