Planning commission recommends amending comp plan to allow commercial solar on marginal land, protect prime farmland

The Houston County Planning Commission voted to recommend that the county board adopt a proposed ordinance and comprehensive-plan amendment that would regulate commercial solar and generally limit large commercial solar energy systems (SES) to marginal ground rather than prime agricultural soils.

Staff said the draft ordinance incorporates edits suggested by the Soil and Water Conservation District and adds references to the NRCS web soil survey. The draft would permit roof-mounted systems for primary or accessory use without a building permit and sets a working threshold of 25 acres for large SES projects, though commissioners and public commenters debated alternatives ranging from 10 to 40 acres.

Public commenters urged different priorities. Clint Bonarck, representing the ag community, thanked the commission for protecting prime farmland. “Ag land is precious, and they don't make any more of it,” Bonarck said. By contrast, Sherry Allen said the proposed limits on prime land are unfair and argued landowners should be able to choose uses for their land. “We bought the land. We should be able to make the choice of what we do on our land,” she said.

Commissioners weighed competing considerations: protecting soil and future food production versus landowner rights and the economic feasibility of solar projects. Several commissioners said the ordinance represents a compromise that allows solar on marginal land while seeking to preserve prime farmland and the county’s long-term agricultural productivity. Staff and commissioners also discussed application requirements (site plans, consideration of wetlands and tile inlets), agrivoltaics and decommissioning plans, and the difficulty of estimating removal costs for projects with 25–30 year horizons.

During public discussion, a question was raised about whether large solar facilities require proximity to substations. Staff replied that substations can be built when feasible but are typically located on flatter, often prime ground; commissioners noted a proposed Maryvale transmission line could change siting feasibility in the future.

On a roll call, the commission recommended adoption of the ordinance with the edits discussed in the meeting; the motion passed 5 yes, 1 no, 1 abstain. The recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final action on Dec. 2.

The commission asked staff to include NRCS or equivalent references where BWSR is cited, change any language that would require Soil & Water to ‘approve’ plans to instead require 'review', and to clarify application and decommissioning language. The commission also discussed whether to add density or spacing limits to avoid clustering of large projects if many become feasible.