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Landowner warns 300-foot solar setbacks would make projects infeasible, urges smaller buffer
Summary
A property owner told Crawford County commissioners that a proposed 300-foot setback for solar projects would sharply reduce usable acreage and jeopardize potential tax revenue; he recommended a 50-foot setback under conditional-use permits and noted Shasta Power would provide privacy fencing and grazing management.
At the June 9 meeting, landowner Rick Elnicki raised concerns about proposed zoning regulations for solar projects. Elnicki said he attended a zoning-board meeting where Joshua Albin allegedly mentioned a 300-foot setback from property boundaries; Elnicki said that setback was not written into Article 9 and that Article 6 contains the setback language. He presented a map showing one parcel would be reduced to 81 usable acres and another would lose about 33% of its area under a 300-foot setback, which he said makes projects "not feasible per Shasta Power." He told the commissioners this could jeopardize millions of dollars in future property-tax revenue for Crawford County.
Elnicki said a 50-foot setback under conditional-use permits, which appears in the draft language, would be reasonable and that Shasta Power would be willing to install an 8-foot privacy fence and use sheep grazing to control vegetation. Commissioners acknowledged the draft is a work in progress; County Clerk Lisa Lusker and Commissioner Blair said they had obtained an updated version from zoning staff and that any miscommunications would be addressed when the zoning board formally presents its recommendations.
No formal action was taken by the board on zoning at the June 9 meeting; Commissioner Carl Wood asked county staff and the county counselor to provide an update when the zoning board’s motion and minutes are ready.
