The Champaign County Environment & Land Use Committee voted Dec. 16 to forward a special-use rezoning request for a proposed community photovoltaic solar farm to the full county board.

The project, filed by Somer Township Solar 1 LLC and proposed by New Leaf Energy with agent Tom Ryan and participating landowner Jane Hamburger (trustee), would install a 4.99-megawatt solar array spread over 27.68 acres north of East Fort Harris Road, west of North Lincoln Avenue and east of the Canadian National rail line. Staff described the site as the most remote solar farm the county has considered in recent years.

John, the county staff member who presented the case, said the petition includes requests for several standard waivers: locating the PV solar farm within the county’s listed proximity to an incorporated municipality (section 615.b.2.a), a waiver from the roadway upgrade and maintenance agreement normally required before Zoning Board of Appeals consideration (section 615.g.1), and reduced separation from a nonparticipating lot where the ordinance requires a larger buffer (section 615.d.3.a). He also noted that a nearby property owner, identified in the record as Mr. Heimberger, had requested screening.

An unidentified committee member praised the choice of location, saying it avoided placing the project adjacent to neighborhoods. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and directed that the matter be considered by the full county board at its next meeting.

The committee also reviewed and forwarded the project’s decommissioning and site reclamation plan. According to staff, the cost estimates in the plan are comparable to other DSRPs the committee has handled.

Next steps: the full Champaign County board will consider both the special-use rezoning and the decommissioning plan at its upcoming meeting; the committee’s action was a forward recommendation, not final approval.

Quotes in this article come from the committee meeting transcript.