Kossuth County schedules solar ordinance workshop after lengthy discussion on setbacks, tile and easements

Kossuth County supervisors agreed to hold a dedicated workshop on Feb. 18 to continue drafting a county solar ordinance after a lengthy discussion that ranged from setbacks and panel heights to impacts on private tile and drainage easements.

The board spent extensive time reviewing model ordinances copied from other Iowa counties and industry input from MidAmerican Energy, which had a representative, Jake Joliet of the Urbandale office, in the meeting to answer technical and siting questions. Joliet said MidAmerican typically purchases land for utility‑scale solar projects and enters options with landowners, and that typical construction involves relatively shallow posts and electrical trenching rather than deep excavation.

Key points from discussion: supervisors and staff identified private agricultural tile as a leading concern for residents: if a private lateral traverses land proposed for a solar field, tile access and ongoing maintenance can be disrupted by panels, posts or trenching. County staff and the county engineer explained drainage district easements and the statutory protections that apply to tile in public drainage districts; they also said private tile that is not part of a drainage district is generally a private civil matter unless landowners convert their facilities into a drainage district.

Other items supervisors said they wanted the workshop to address included setback distances from residences and property lines, maximum panel height (several speakers recommended 15–20 feet as typical), noise and inverter impacts, notice procedures for neighboring landowners, and the permit/waiver process for variances or neighbor consent. Supervisors noted some counties use larger setbacks with an option allowing affected neighbors to waive setbacks by agreement.

Why this matters: solar projects can cover large tracts of farmland and raise concerns about drainage, neighbor impacts, glare, noise and local control over siting. Supervisors said the county needs a locally tailored ordinance rather than a straight copy of another county's rules and agreed a workshop with staff, the county attorney and zoning advisor(s) would be the next step before hiring an attorney to write a draft ordinance.

Board action: supervisors scheduled a solar ordinance workshop for Feb. 18 at 1:00 p.m. to continue internal discussion and to review samples from neighbouring counties; they instructed staff to circulate sample ordinances and technical notes in advance.

Next steps and public engagement: staff will compile sample ordinances (Linn, Greene and other counties were mentioned as references), engineering input about post depths and tile protections, and draft setback/variance options for the workshop. Supervisors said they want outreach to affected landowners and drainage stakeholders prior to any formal public hearing on a proposed ordinance.