Russellville City planning commission approves large solar array on Hobnob Road

The Russellville City Planning Commission on March 2026 approved a large-scale solar array proposed by Infra on behalf of Cherokee Nation Entertainment for property along Hobnob Road, contingent on staff-recommended conditions and confirmation from the fire department that apparatus can access the site.

Planning staff told the commission the site is in a C5 highway commercial casino district and that a utility substation/solar array is a permitted use under section 2.10.2 of the land subdivision development code (LSDC). Staff said the project meets large-scale development criteria in Article 7 and therefore requires planning commission review before building permits; staff recommended approval provided required details are submitted during site-plan review.

Jordan Tinsley, vice president of development at Infra, identified the applicant and said the project would be ground-mounted with panels about 2.5 feet above the ground so existing grass would remain beneath them. "We're not replacing the vegetation, we're just putting the ground-mounted array above the existing grass field," Tinsley said, adding the company will perform routine vegetation maintenance and may use mechanized vegetation-management equipment.

Tinsley told commissioners the applicant proposes a six-foot chain-link fence on the current plan but will seek a variance to allow a seven-foot fence shown on the plan set. "That code requires a 7 foot fence around a facility of this type," he said, referring to a national electrical code provision and explaining the higher fence is intended to reduce unauthorized access and liability; the applicant said it withdrew a proposal to add barbed wire.

City staff said they would review whether a superseding national code provision applies locally and suggested the issue could be referred to long-range planning or resolved at the board of adjustment if a variance is needed. The planning commission also required the applicant to submit a sidewalk cost estimate and said the applicant may pay a sidewalk payment-in-lieu because of site constraints.

Chris Galloway, vice president at Infra, addressed technical concerns about glare, electromagnetic fields and noise. "The panels are coated with an anti-glare coating... we don't see that as a significant impact," Galloway said, and described electromagnetic fields as localized at the inverter equipment and "insignificant." He said inverters and transformers will include standard protections (ground-fault and arc-fault interruption) and that the system is designed to meet structural and wind requirements and to comply with NEC 691 and local provisions.

Galloway and Tinsley said panels have an active-production rating of roughly 15 years with modeled degradation of about 0.5% per year; retired panels would be returned to the manufacturer for recycling when feasible. The applicant also said the site will be monitored by multiple security cameras and that technicians monitor system alarms 24/7 and would dispatch service personnel or contact emergency responders if an unsafe condition is detected.

A commissioner moved to approve the large-scale development with the staff conditions and with the follow-up that staff obtain comments from the fire department (listed in the record as Richard) on site access. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

Next steps for the project include submittal of the detailed site-plan materials required by staff, review of the sidewalk in-lieu cost estimate, and, if necessary, a board-of-adjustment hearing to consider any fence-height or landscaping variances before building permits are issued.