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Commissioners introduce county forest conservation updates to comply with state law and debate local solar exemption
Summary
Staff introduced Ordinance 2612 to align the County Forest Conservation Act with new state laws (SB 526 and HB 1511), including updated mitigation rates and riparian buffer requirements; one commissioner proposed a local restriction on siting solar in conserved forest areas and staff noted existing 'sunset' language for in-progress applications.
County staff introduced County Ordinance 2612, a set of amendments to the County Forest Conservation Act (chapter 182) intended to implement state changes from Senate Bill 526 and House Bill 1511 effective July 1. Staff said the changes revamp how forest conservation is calculated, add some exemptions, change mitigation rates, require riparian buffers to be forested, and update priority preservation areas. The ordinance also requires notification to adjacent property owners when a forest conservation plan is submitted.
A commissioner proposed adding a local restriction to prevent utility-scale solar installations in areas that the county designates for forest conservation, saying the county should be "the first county to say you can't put solar in there" and that the board could fight later with the state if necessary. Staff noted that a 'sunset' provision had been drafted for applications already on file so that projects not finalized within a year would have to comply with the new regulations; that provision is not a state requirement but a local measure to address pending applications.
Commissioners generally supported introduction and noted staff would refine language before the public hearing; the item was introduced and scheduling for a hearing was discussed. The staff-led revisions and the local solar-exemption proposal will be considered in reports prepared for the hearing.
