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Worth County orders zoning correction after administrative oversight; Worthwhile West Solar allowed to proceed
Summary
The Worth County Board of Supervisors directed the county auditor to update the zoning ordinance after discovering a 2019 administrative omission and acknowledged that the Worthwhile West Solar project had advanced past points that would ordinarily require a conditional use permit, recognizing a vested right to continue.
The Worth County Board of Supervisors on June 29, 2026 adopted Resolution 2026-23 directing the county auditor to immediately update the county zoning ordinance text to conform to Ordinance #2019.09.30 after an administrative error left the published ordinance unchanged since 2019.
The board found that the failure to publish the ordinance language requiring conditional use permits for commercial and private solar generators and battery storage systems was not discovered until June 2026. The resolution states that, during the interval, the Worthwhile West Solar project proceeded through several implementation milestones that typically would follow a conditional use permit process: (1) obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the State of Iowa, (2) executing an interconnect agreement with the electrical authority, (3) executing a road use agreement with the county, and (4) executing a drainage agreement with the county.
Because the ordinance language was not present in the county's published zoning text as directed in 2019, the board resolved that the project "has a vested right to continue the project without reversing the process" and therefore is exempt from obtaining a conditional use permit retroactively. The board also directed the county auditor to take immediate action to update the zoning ordinance text consistent with the 2019 ordinance.
Resolution 2026-23 was adopted by the board on June 29, 2026. The action references an administrative oversight, directs corrective publishing of zoning text, and records the board's determination about the project's status; it does not impose new conditions or reverse previously executed agreements. The resolution text and adopted motion are part of the official minutes.
