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Planning subcommittee moves draft solar ordinance to public hearing to strengthen county authority
Summary
A planning commission subcommittee recommended converting Buckingham County’s solar policy into an ordinance to comply with new state law and to give the county stronger standing to defend denials of solar farm applications; commissioners suggested edits on engineer certification and financial security language and set a public hearing for April 27, 2026.
The Buckingham County Planning Commission’s solar‑policy subcommittee recommended converting the county’s current solar guidance into an ordinance to bring the county into compliance with recent state law changes and to provide greater legal standing for local decisions.
At the meeting the subcommittee chair said moving the policy to ordinance form would give the county "a little bit more leverage" to defend denials of solar‑farm applications and to align the comprehensive plan with updated statutory requirements. Commissioners and staff discussed timelines to advertise the ordinance for public hearing on April 27, 2026, and staff set an internal deadline for suggested edits to allow timely advertisement.
Commissioners suggested specific edits to the draft: defining terms such as "independent professional engineer," clarifying the meaning of "security" for financial assurances, and tightening the contract language that addresses financial security and decommissioning. One commissioner recommended replacing vague financial‑security language with a requirement for a negotiable financial instrument recognizable in the United States or a U.S. national bank letter of credit to secure decommissioning or other county obligations.
The commission voted to forward the draft ordinance to public hearing on April 27, 2026 and asked staff to incorporate suggested edits and return a revised draft for advertisement.
What happens next: Staff will accept suggested language changes submitted by commissioners in time for advertising; the commission will hold a public hearing on the draft ordinance on April 27, 2026.
