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Pickens County adopts zoning updates for solar and crypto mining, lifts industrial moratorium
Summary
Commissioners adopted amendments to chapter 67 to add industrial conditional‑use rules for solar farms and crypto‑mining and voted to lift a temporary moratorium on new industrial land‑use designations after adopting the ordinance changes.
Pickens County commissioners on July 15 adopted amendments to chapter 67 of the county zoning ordinance to add provisions for solar farms and crypto‑mining as industrial conditional uses, then voted to lift a two‑month moratorium on new industrial land‑use designations.
Speaker 1 said the amendments update the table of permitted uses and provide a conditional‑use pathway for those industrial categories, covering allowed premises, types of equipment and application procedures. The board removed an initial noise‑regulation provision from the draft and deferred noise regulation to the conditional‑use application process. After discussion, a motion to bring the ordinance amendments to the floor was made and the board voted to approve the changes.
Because the county now has a regulatory category and procedures in chapter 67, Speaker 1 presented a resolution to lift a moratorium placed two months earlier while the revisions were developed. The board voted unanimously to lift the moratorium, restoring the county’s ability to consider new industrial land‑use applications under the newly adopted rules.
The board directed staff to finalize ordinance paperwork and circulate updated application procedures to planning staff and applicants. The transcript does not record text of the final ordinance or an ordinance number; staff indicated the ordinance was distributed to commissioners in advance and reviewed in a prior work session.
