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Lunenburg County planning commission to study solar project rules; floodplain maps and comp-plan update also discussed
Summary
The commission reviewed a Board resolution directing a study of possible solar ordinance and zoning changes and listed study topics (project siting, size, spacing, town buffers, and farmland protections); commissioners also reviewed preliminary floodplain maps and planned the Joint Comprehensive Plan review.
The Lunenburg County Planning Commission on Aug. 3 discussed a Board of Supervisors resolution directing the Solar Facilities Committee, the Planning Commission and the Board to study potential amendments to the Zoning Ordinances, the Solar Facility Ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan.
Assistant County Attorney Drew DiStanislao asked the commission to study several specific items at the September meeting, including project location, distance between projects, project size, a radius of protections around towns, the treatment of prime farmland and prime timberland, and what percentage of county farmland should be eligible for solar development. Clerk Taylor N. King listed projects currently in the application queue or approved: Red Brick Solar, Dogwood Lane Solar, Wheelhouse Solar, Laurel Branch Solar, Laurel Branch Switchyard and Oral Oaks Solar.
Commissioners discussed whether the county should consider an absolute cap on total megawatts, an annual cap, or acreage-based limits; Attorney DiStanislao cautioned that any cap must be "reasonably calculated" rather than arbitrary. Commissioner Pennington noted that a megawatt-based cap might encourage many small projects rather than fewer large ones.
Chairman James "Buck" Tharpe addressed recent press coverage about a purported countywide halt on solar development, saying the report was incorrect: "the County has not put a halt to all solar, it is simply a pause to conduct a study and the applications that are currently in the queue will continue to be worked on." The commission received no public comments opposing or supporting the pause during this meeting.
Clerk King also reviewed preliminary floodplain maps that the commission members were asked to review and advised that an updated Floodplain Ordinance would be presented later. She asked commissioners to consider serving on a working committee for the Joint Comprehensive Plan review or to suggest citizen representatives.
The commission did not take formal action to change the solar ordinance at the meeting; commissioners agreed to research other localitiesapproaches and to discuss recommendations at a future meeting.
