Morrow County commissioners ban utility-scale solar and wind in Perry Township after hour of public comment

Morrow County commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a resolution declaring the unincorporated area of Perry Township a restricted area prohibiting construction of economically significant wind farms and large solar facilities.

The board's vote came after an extended public comment period in which residents warned that a proposed roughly 1,000-acre solar project would harm prime farmland, lower nearby property values and create drainage and decommissioning risks. "If we take 1,000 acres of good farmland away from the community, that's less land that third generations will ever be able to have," Christine Wilcox said during public comment.

Opponents also cited technical and long-term concerns. Laurie Rupp and other speakers referenced expert testimony they said shows damage to soil productivity and drainage from piling and heavy construction, and argued that decommissioning plans and bonds do not guarantee successful restoration. "The adverse impacts on soil productivity caused by the project will be irreversible on a human time scale," one commenter summarized of agronomy testimony presented to regulators.

Project representatives urged the commissioners not to adopt the restriction. "Voting against the resolution today doesn't mean the project's approved," Mike Settenary, an attorney for the applicant's counsel, told the board, describing the Ohio Power Siting Board process as comprehensive and subject to continuing oversight, permit conditions and decommissioning bonds. A development lead for the project said the proposal included 600-foot setbacks, a good-neighbor agreement, commitments to work with county soil and water conservation officials and an estimated $1,000,000-plus annual payment in lieu of taxes to local taxing districts.

Several residents framed the decision as broader than a single landowner's choice. "This is a community decision," Christine Wilcox said, arguing that government tax incentives make utility-scale projects possible and that local impacts can be long-lasting.

The clerk read the resolution that had been introduced earlier in the meeting: it declares the entirety of Perry Township's unincorporated area a restricted zone for "economically significant" wind farms and large solar facilities. A commissioner moved the resolution and the chair seconded; the roll call recorded affirmative votes for Commissioners Mason, Abraham and Siegfried, and the motion carried.

With no other items on the agenda, the chair moved to recess the meeting.

What happens next: The resolution as adopted records the board's current local policy position; project proponents retain the ability to pursue state permitting through the Ohio Power Siting Board for facilities over its jurisdictional thresholds, and residents raised multiple issues — drainage, decommissioning, setbacks and property-value impacts — that local officials and the applicant indicated would be addressed in future permitting and design discussions.