Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Scott County delays solar ordinance after public outcry; adopts comprehensive plan update and approves daycare and tower amendments
Summary
After hours of public comment about visual impacts, setbacks and decommissioning, the Scott County Board of Supervisors voted to postpone the solar-specific portions of a zoning amendment and approved changes removing a tower-height restriction and updating daycare-use language; the board also adopted a comprehensive plan update that endorses renewable energy goals.
The Scott County Board of Supervisors postponed the solar-specific sections of a proposed zoning ordinance after residents raised concerns about siting, visual impacts and long-term decommissioning while approving related zoning amendments for daycare facilities and deletion of a tower-height restriction.
Residents from Nicholsville and nearby communities filled the public hearing and said large solar arrays would sit close to homes, change scenic views and reduce property values. Sharon Culberson, a Nicholsville resident, told the board she faces “hundreds of solar panels being put in front of my home” and said fencing and barbed wire would make the site look "like a prison." She asked supervisors to require siting farther from doorways and to avoid placing utility-scale projects directly adjacent to residences.
Several speakers pressed the board to make sure the ordinance contains strong decommissioning and setback provisions. Larry Vickers, another resident, urged specific protections in the zoning text and warned that national or international investors frequently buy and sell solar companies, leaving local landowners and counties exposed to decommissioning costs if operators fail. Developers and industry representatives, including Quentin Wood of New Leaf Energy, urged clearer definitions in the ordinance, especially the meaning of "site owner" and how decommissioning obligations would apply to leased land.
Planning and staff said the solar provisions would still require a special-use permit and recommended the package as presented by the Planning Commission, but several supervisors and members of the public urged more time to review the 10-page solar amendment. The board voted to separate the ordinance package: it approved the amendments addressing daycare centers and tower-height language that had been bundled with the package and postponed action on the solar-generation and related decommissioning sections to allow broader public review and additional meetings.
In related business, the board adopted an update to the Scott County Comprehensive Plan that adds a smart-scale transportation project and a renewable-energy goal encouraging "properly sited utility-scale solar energy farms, wind energy facilities, and advanced nuclear reactors" consistent with the Commonwealth's energy plan. Staff told the board the plan updates (including new census tables and transportation references) were intended to guide development and to clear language ahead of future permit reviews.
What happens next: supervisors agreed to provide the public with the specific solar amendment pages and to schedule further review and outreach prior to any future vote on the solar provisions. Special-use permitting and the Planning Commission review process will still apply to any project proposals when they arrive.
