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Boone County staff warns of state statute changes requiring zoning updates for solar, wind and energy storage
Summary
County planning staff told the committee state statute updates now include energy storage and constrain local conditions for solar and wind; the county must revise its zoning text by June 1 or risk having the state statute govern projects and increased litigation exposure.
Boone County planning staff told the Committee of the Whole on May 7 that recent changes to Illinois statute now include energy storage systems alongside solar and wind and that the county must update its zoning ordinance text by June 1 to align with the state law.
Staff said the county’s draft solar-and-wind ordinance has been revised to reflect the state changes and that energy storage systems will be inserted as a special use in agricultural and industrial zoning categories as required by statute. The presentation noted that if the county fails to adopt conforming local language, state statute will govern and applicants could challenge denials or more restrictive local conditions in court.
A staff attorney told the committee that the statute includes provisions that make litigation riskier for counties, including a fee-shifting element that can require the losing party to pay prevailing attorneys’ fees in some cases. Several board members discussed legislative and planning options to regain greater local control — including working with state legislators or relying on the county’s comprehensive plan and conservation district to shape preferred siting — but staff said those remedies would require changes at the state level or voluntary agreements with developers and agencies.
The committee approved a motion to forward the zoning text amendments to the county board agenda so the county can meet the June 1 statutory deadline.
