Ada County reopens zoning deliberations on solar siting, directs staff to draft clearer farmland protections

The Ada County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 14 reopened deliberations on a proposed rewrite of the county’s zoning code to add clearer limits on utility-scale solar siting on farmland and directed staff to return revised language Oct. 28, 2025.

Commissioner (Speaker 2) said the county should “keep solar presales should not be located on … farmland of statewide importance, or farmland of local importance unless certain criteria is met,” and asked staff to use objective, data-driven factors such as professional soil analysis, documented yields and multi-year profitability to define prime and locally important farmland. Staff from Development Services (Speaker 8) confirmed the code could include exception criteria backed by evidence submitted by property owners or applicants.

The board clarified procedural thresholds: distributed-generation systems of 100 kilowatts or less would follow a simplified process, while facilities above that cutoff would be treated as centralized generation and be subject to additional review. Commissioners also discussed applying standard zoning setbacks by default and allowing the Planning and Zoning Commission to require larger setbacks case by case.

Chair (Speaker 1) said the goal of reopening deliberations was to provide clearer language so different readers interpret the rules consistently. Commissioners agreed to direct staff to draft the clarifying language and return the ordinance for final consideration at the Oct. 28 business meeting. The motion to table and to direct staff carried unanimously.

The board’s action does not adopt a permanent policy yet; it directs staff to prepare ordinance language reflecting agreed criteria and processes, with a staff return and vote scheduled for Oct. 28, 2025.