Public urges citizen advisory board after solar moratorium; commissioners defer to planning commission

Public comment at the Dearborn County commissioners meeting on March 3 focused on a recently adopted moratorium related to solar- and related land-use ordinances and calls from residents for a citizen advisory board to guide ordinance revisions.

"We'd like to see it done with the aid of a citizen advisory board, just as the comprehensive plan was done," said Bobby Rowan, a resident who identified his address as 12875 Benning Road. He told commissioners his group gathered roughly 2,300 petition signatures and urged direct citizen participation rather than relying on social media or untargeted email submissions.

Commissioners and planning officials described the course the process must follow under local practice. A planning commission representative explained that changes to Article 19 of the zoning ordinance must originate with the planning commission, which then can recommend ordinances to the commissioners for approval.

"The planning commission is who recommends changes to the commissioners," a planning commission member said, explaining the legal sequence and noting open meetings considerations for any formally constituted advisory group. Commissioners discussed whether a small advisory panel could speed public input while remaining compliant with Indiana's open meetings laws.

Chair said the board has placed a moratorium in effect and that commissioners will monitor the planning commission's work, asking planning staff and the planning commission president to consider scheduling a March meeting to hear public input if appropriate.

Several commissioners said they are open to some form of citizen engagement but emphasized the planning commission's statutory role and cautioned that any group that includes multiple elected officials could trigger open-meetings requirements that change how meetings are run.

Next steps: commissioners said they will monitor progress, ask planning staff and the planning commission president about a possible March meeting focused on solar-related ordinance work, and revisit the need for a formal citizen advisory body if progress stalls.