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Council tightens large-scale solar rules, raising setbacks and drainage standards
Summary
The council adopted a text amendment increasing nonparticipating residence setbacks from 250 to 500 feet, expanding buffer and drainage requirements, and clarifying that battery-storage projects above state thresholds would be reviewed by state agencies; the change passed 9–0 after extensive public comment and debate about Hexagon’s grandfathering and local impacts.
The Saint Joseph County Council voted 9–0 on Oct. 8 to adopt text amendments to county land-use rules governing large-scale solar energy systems.
Area Plan Director Abby Wiles summarized the changes included in Bill 82-24: raising the minimum setback from the outermost foundation of a nonparticipating residence to a solar panel from 250 feet to 500 feet, adding a 500-foot setback for preserved parks, expanding buffer yard and landscaping requirements to any residential use or zoning district (rather than only subdivisions of 10 or more lots), and adding drainage provisions that allow the…
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