Bourbon County residents press commissioners on solar setbacks, petition process and legal advice

Public commenters pressed Bourbon County commissioners on how the county will handle setbacks and zoning for future solar projects and asked for written legal opinions after the county rejected a citizens’ petition.

Katie Casper, who introduced a letter from a private attorney, said residents had paid for the legal review and asked whether the commission could provide written responses from the five attorneys the county said it consulted. She said the citizens’ attorney had offered an opinion the group believed supported broader moratorium language and asked for documentation of the county’s contrary advice. "All we got was that attorney’s opinion that we presented," Casper said. "We did not lawyer up; we paid for that letter." The commission replied that its lawyers and insurance advisers had told them they had no legal path to alter existing signed contracts.

The public also raised practical concerns. Casper said local insurance agents told residents that farm liability policies do not automatically cover solar panels owned by companies or add property owners as loss payees, and that property owners should be made aware that coverage may not extend to panels on leased land. "They're not personally covered," she said.

Several residents urged the commission to pursue a comprehensive plan and a public committee to examine zoning or special-use permitting for utility-scale solar. Commissioners said creating a comprehensive plan will require outside expertise and legal review, and that any policy changes cannot be applied retroactively to already signed contracts. One commissioner said the county would seek an outside consultant and hold a public work session to invite community input and review options.

The meeting also included an exchange about a publicly available corporate filing that lists "Sun Harvest Development LLC" with a registered agent name that prompted a question about potential conflicts. The person named as a registered agent addressed the meeting and denied any conflict, saying he had no active industrial solar projects in Kansas and urging anyone with evidence to report ethics concerns to the state.

What happens next: commissioners said they will consider hiring outside consultants (as neighboring Crawford County did), convene a committee or work session after absent commissioners return, and consult county counsel on clear, lawful language for any future moratorium, setbacks or ballot measures.