Board approves conditional use for Commerce Street solar; panel term extended from 30 to 40 years

The planning and zoning committee reviewed several solar conditional‑use applications and voted to approve conditions for the Commerce Street (Lewis Creek) project while separately taking a vote to extend the permitted term from 30 years to 40 years.

Planning chairman Doug Geiger summarized staff review and recommended conditions; applicant representatives from Soltage (Stephanie Sadowski) stated that lease terms on the host property align with a longer term and that inspections and other conditions were included in the application. Board members debated inspection frequency, who would own equipment once installed, and what role Ameren would play in taking possession of transformers or exported power.

The committee also flagged deficiencies in some US Solar applications (missing drainage/tile investigations and incomplete maps) and asked applicants to resubmit corrected materials before scheduling public hearings. Zoning staff said some applications will be reworked and returned for further review.

On the Commerce Street item the board approved the recommended conditions and then separately approved extending the permit term to 40 years to align with the land lease; both actions passed by roll call as recorded in committee minutes. Several members requested that the record note the inspection schedule and that proposed changes be made explicit in public hearing materials.

Separately, staff and the county attorney recommended that meteorological (MET) towers in certain agricultural zoning districts be reviewed as conditional uses so the public retains a right to comment; that text-amendment discussion proceeded to committee review.