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Kane County approves special‑use permit for 5‑megawatt solar field after IDNR review
Summary
The county board approved zoning petition TMP26‑783, granting a special‑use permit for a 5 MW solar facility on roughly 32 acres (about 20 acres of cropland). Project engineers said no trees would be removed; the Illinois Department of Natural Resources reviewed the site and raised no adverse bat‑impact findings after supplemental review.
The Kane County Board approved a special‑use permit for a 5‑megawatt solar energy facility (TMP26‑783) proposed by Douglas Family Butterfly Garden and Solar Farm LLC.
Committee chair William Iqbal introduced the petition and noted it had cleared the zoning commission 6–0 and the development committee 9–0. Petitioner counsel Dan Kramer and project engineer Hannah London said the installation would occupy approximately 20 acres of cropland out of a 32‑acre parcel and would not require tree clearing. London said the project underwent an NRI (Natural Resources Inventory) report and supplementary IDNR review after the county’s special‑use permitting process flagged bats as a potential species of concern; IDNR’s supplemental review found no adverse effects.
At the development committee hearing one public commenter expressed a general dislike of solar in the area; another advised caution about bats. Kramer said there were no formal objections in the record and that only isolated testimony expressing preference or wildlife concerns had been presented; London clarified no trees would be removed and IDNR had cleared the site.
The board heard from the district representative (Kim Young, speaker 10) who said she had received no negative comments locally and supported the project. The board approved the permit by roll call.
Next steps
The applicant will proceed with permitting and construction per county development rules. The board record shows the project received unanimous support in prior review bodies and no unresolved environmental objections from IDNR.
