(Greenfield) The Adair County Board of Supervisors passed Solar Energy Systems Ordinance number #38 following a public hearing at the Adair County Courthouse on Wednesday evening. The Supervisors limited the in-person attendance in the courtroom to 21 people to allow for social distancing. The balance of the public attended the meeting electronically.
Matt Ott, the project developer of Mid-American Energy, voiced his concerns regarding the excessive setbacks established under the ordinance.
The ordinance includes a cap of 400 total developed project acres, which he argued represents one-tenth of the total acres in Adair County. He also questioned the five-mile setback from a public airport.
The other setbacks include, 1,000 feet from an occupied residence, 250 feet from a property line of any non-participating parcel, 50 feet from a public right of way, and a radius of 150 feet from the center of the intersection. Curt Beane thanked the Supervisors for reaching out to the public and getting an ordinance in place.
Lyle Bean referenced Mid-American’s Wind Turbine Project and wasn’t happy with the way the county was “treated” during that project.
Following the public comments and the reading of the ordinance, the supervisors voted on the 1st reading to pass the ordinance, passed the second and third readings, and adopted the ordinance by a 3-2 vote. Matt Wedemeyer, David Homan, and Jodie Hoadley voted yes. Supervisors Steve Shelley and John Twombly voted against the ordinance.
Shelley on the reason he voted against the ordinance.
John Twombly voted against the ordinance referencing the 400-acre cap.
The purpose of the ordinance is to establish minimum requirements and regulations for any applicant developer/Owner engaged in the construction, erection, placement, location, maintenance, modification, operation, and decommissioning of Utility-Scale Solar Energy Systems in Adair County.
