Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission opens public‑opinion survey work and schedules work session on solar ordinance
Summary
Commissioners reviewed draft survey questions to gather resident views on county vision, tourism, and solar projects; they discussed distribution methods, verification of residency, and agreed to a near‑term work session to refine survey questions and to craft recommendations on a county solar ordinance consistent with state HB 16.
The Emery County Planning Commission spent a substantial portion of its March meeting refining a draft resident survey aimed at gathering public input about the county’s vision, enforcement and amendment of ordinances, tourism priorities, recreation access (ATV and bike trails), and whether the county should restrict large solar projects on private property.
Staff explained distribution options — QR codes posted at city halls, social‑media promotion, and mailing to registered voters if postage funding is approved — and commissioners debated verification procedures to ensure respondents are county residents. Commissioners asked that the survey avoid wording that targets a single business and instead solicit broader input about the county’s preferred economic direction (tourism, industrial, mining, nuclear development) and specific amenities (trail systems, services for tourists).
The discussion segued into a broader review of solar policy. Commissioners and attendees raised taxation questions (central vs. locally assessed status of projects), transmission capacity and interconnection uncertainty, project‑area incentives or Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) structures, mitigation for neighboring properties (runoff, fencing, wildlife impacts), and whether any local ordinance should prioritize local benefits and tax rebates that offset homeowner impacts. Commissioners agreed to a work session in the coming weeks to finalize survey questions and to draft recommended ordinance language consistent with the new state HB 16 requirements (decommissioning, financial assurance) and county general plan priorities.
