Will County planning panel declines to recommend Earthrise’s 6,100‑acre ‘Pride of the Prairie’ solar special‑use permit after hours of testimony

The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission heard more than four hours of sworn testimony March 31 on Earthrise’s proposed Pride of the Prairie commercial solar facility before voting 4–2 not to forward a favorable recommendation on the special‑use permit.

Residents, township officials and union representatives framed the debate in starkly different terms. Opponents described the proposal as an outsized industrial intrusion on productive farmland — various speakers repeatedly cited a project footprint of roughly 6,100 acres — and pressed the commission to delay or deny approval until road‑use agreements, drainage studies, Army Corps reviews and clearer decommissioning assurances were in place. "This hearing by design is a mega permit," said Andrea Bombard of Manhattan Township, who urged the commission to "table this vote" and asked why municipal solar options such as parking‑lot arrays had not been pursued.

Union and labor representatives urged approval. Paul Garin of the Chicago Area Labor–Management Cooperation Education Trust and officials from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 said the project would create construction jobs and economic activity. "This project represents a responsible, community‑supported clean energy development," Garin said, adding that union members make careers out of temporary projects.

Township highway commissioners and road officials repeatedly warned of heavy construction traffic on local gravel roads and aging bridges. "Earthrise is projected to use over 50% of my roads," Wilton Township Highway Commissioner Ray Nent Jr. said, urging signed road‑use agreements and bond protections before any construction. Several speakers, including township officials, described equipment moving on township roads without required permits and requested formal, enforceable road‑use commitments.

Residents raised questions about screening and setbacks, stormwater and drainage impacts, wildlife (including an account of a rescued short‑eared owl), and long‑term property values. Manhattan Township Assessor Kristen Blazer asked for parcel‑level megawatt estimates to validate the tax revenue projections cited by the applicant; Earthrise representatives said those numbers exist and offered to share them with local assessors.

Earthrise answered commissioners’ and public questions in a structured Q&A. Company representatives — identified in the hearing as Rob (project representative), Graham (environmental director) and Joseph (engineering manager) — said the project does not include battery storage, described emergency response and vegetation management plans, and said they would work with the Army Corps on any jurisdictional wetlands or floodplain issues. The applicant said a county‑held decommissioning bond (phased to full funding over the first 11 years) and insurance would be in place and that the project’s interconnection rights to the grid would persist for the life of the project.

Commission action: the panel voted to remove one staff condition (condition 5) and then took a roll‑call vote on the special‑use recommendation. The motion to recommend approval failed on a 4–2 vote; commissioners cited concerns about the project’s scale, the accelerated timetable and outstanding local‑infrastructure questions. The commission did approve several variances on the consent agenda (including requests to increase maximum ground‑cover plant height from 13 inches to 36 inches on listed parcels and multiple lot‑frontage variances), which were recorded as passed during the same session.

What happens next: The case record (ZC‑25‑129 / S25‑056) goes to the county Land Use Committee (scheduled in the record for April 2) and then to the county board, which makes the final decision. The commission’s vote is a recommendation, not a final permit.

The hearing record includes multiple requests from residents for clearer, parcel‑level technical data and binding road‑use and drainage agreements; Earthrise told the commission it will continue negotiations with townships and provide additional documentation where required by the county permitting process.

(For clarity: quotations and attributions in this report are taken from sworn testimony and the public record at the March 31 hearing. The commission’s roll‑call tally and the sequence of actions are reported as recorded in the hearing transcript.)