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DeSoto Parish jury grants variance to Dola Hills Solar to allow construction start while post‑construction permits are completed
Summary
The jury approved a variance allowing Dola Hills Solar LLC (with partner Cleco) to begin preconstruction activities while completing back‑end permissions; company representatives said they comply with setback/height/screening rules and offered parish contributions including road upgrades and PILOT terms.
DeSoto Parish jurors voted Jan. 6 to approve a variance request from Dola Hills Solar LLC that will allow the company to begin preconstruction work before final post‑construction permissions are issued under a recently adopted solar ordinance.
A company representative (speaker 13) told the jury the project is already in compliance with physical ordinance requirements — setbacks, height and tree screening — and described the variance as a scheduling accommodation so construction can proceed while the operator completes required items such as economic‑impact studies and glare analyses. The representative said the partners expect to submit the remaining materials and that the final permission to operate functions like a certificate of occupancy.
The company said it is coordinating with Cleco (an electric utility) and has discussed a community benefit package that could include an approximately $1 million contribution for parish‑road upgrades plus sales‑tax and PILOT arrangements. Jurors asked whether the variance request included a tax exemption; one juror raised concerns about a local buyer who said Cleco would not engage on a property sale.
Despite questions about timing of permit‑fee payment (whether 30 days from approval or 30 days from pulling a building permit), the jury approved the variance. The representative said he would relay jurors’ concerns to Cleco and continue coordination.
The vote grants the developer temporary procedural relief to maintain its construction schedule while preserving requirements the parish will enforce through the permission‑to‑operate process.
