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Charlotte County adopts updated comprehensive plan, includes recommended 4% solar acreage cap
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Summary
The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors adopted an updated Comprehensive Plan on April 10, 2024, endorsing a Planning Commission‑recommended solar policy that caps total fenced solar acreage at 4% of the county's land area (about 12,168 acres). The plan directs annual review options and will be posted on the county website.
The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors voted April 10 to adopt an updated Comprehensive Plan that incorporates new mapping, data updates and a recommended limit on large‑scale solar development.
Todd Fortune of the Commonwealth Regional Council told the Board the five‑year review incorporated transportation data from VDOT, electric utility coverage maps, sub‑watershed and flood‑zone mapping, and updated school accreditation and work‑from‑home figures. The review added new policy language on land‑use conflicts, water‑source protection and solar energy, and included Special Policy Areas and an implementation plan. The county retained The Berkley Group to help craft the solar language.
The Comprehensive Plan includes a Planning Commission‑recommended cap limiting total fenced solar development to 4% of Charlotte County’s land area. Using the county’s stated total of 304,194 acres, that 4% cap equates to 12,168 acres; staff reported 8,587 acres had been approved as of March 31, 2024, leaving an available balance of roughly 3,581 acres under the cap calculation cited in the staff report.
Daniel Dixon, speaking for the group Friends of Charlotte during public comment, urged the Board to adopt a tighter cap of 2.56% to better preserve farmland and forested areas; the Board adopted the plan as presented, which reflects the Planning Commission’s recommended 4% cap. The resolution directs the County Administrator to post the adopted plan on the county website and notify incorporated towns and stakeholders.
Board members discussed the review cycle for the plan; Supervisor Hazel Bowman Smith said she favors more frequent reviews than the statutory five‑year interval and Administrator Daniel Witt recommended the Board ask the Planning Commission to perform an annual review and report back.
The motion to adopt the Comprehensive Plan was made by Supervisor Noah Davis, seconded by Supervisor Gary D. Walker, and passed by roll call with all members present voting yea.
The Board also granted the Planning Commission a 60‑day extension for a 2232 review of the Lavendar Solar Project at the commission’s request; the Planning Commission extension was presented as a separate procedural action and does not change the content of the adopted Comprehensive Plan.