Any action on changes to Marshall County’s ordinance regarding solar energy will have to wait.
The only other item on the agenda for the Marshall County Plan Commission last Thursday was tabled leaving the sole issue to hear comments from Deb VanDeMark on toughening the current ordinance regarding the presence of any large solar projects in the county.
Plan Commission President David Hostetler stated before VanDeMark’s comments that her presentation would be heard but that there was not a place listed in the agenda for public comments.
Hostetler told those in attendance that the Commission welcomed technical or any other information or comments to be supplied to the board but that the board desired that such information be submitted to Marshall County Plan Director Ty Adley so that he could compile it to present to the board at their next meeting.
VanDeMark restated the desire that the Commission would enact a short-term moratorium on all solar projects in the county to allow more consideration of the public’s concerns for such projects as well as the related storage battery projects.
VanDeMark highlighted that the current ordinance had been enacted in 2020-21 and that much had changed in the interim.
She stated that one concern was the fact that any solar company would not have local roots and therefore would be unlikely to have the same concerns for the community and residents that a local company would.
VanDeMark urged action to create a policy based on the new knowledge of solar farms and the accompanying storage battery projects and investigating the ordinances that other communities had in place regarding the installations.
She brought up the current county Comprehensive Plan enacted in 2013 highlighting sections that the county would plan for future growth that would “protect the county’s rural nature,” and the preservation of farmland in the county. Her feeling was that the Commission should not disregard that part of the Comprehensive Plan.
She gave the Commission an outline of some points that she felt should be included in addressing the new ordinance including not allowing solar farms to be placed in areas currently zoned as A1 or agricultural. She felt that storage batteries should also be included and that there should have to be Board of Zoning Appeals approval before a site could be constructed. She felt that there should be a clear safety and groundwater testing plan in place and that facilities should only be allowed in areas with industrial zoning.
She said fencing of facilities should be mandatory and that monetary guarantees regarding clean-up should be in place to address decommissioning of sites once they were outdated.
An argument with several angry audience members ensued and once it had calmed down VanDeMark asked the board what the process was to have some action taken feeling that she had already addressed several boards seeking such action.
Hostetler stated there were currently no known plans for a facility in the county, nor had any entity asked for permits for one. He pointed out recent legislation enacted by the Indiana General Assembly and that the Commission didn’t want to take some sort of action and then have to “take it all back” because they had done the wrong thing, adding that he wanted to be sure they had the right input to “do it right the first time”.
State Senator Mike Bohacek, in the audience, told the commission the legislation he had sponsored in Indianapolis dealt with only the safety of the structures and that the regulation of them was still a county matter.
Hostetler reminded the audience that ultimately the Plan Commission could only make a recommendation on whether the ordinance should be changed but that the ultimate authority would lie with the Marshall County Commissioners.
The board tasked Adley with compiling all technical information in a form for the board to review at their next meeting.
The Plan Commission will revisit the request in their August meeting with an eye to a public hearing to allow for comments from the public regarding the issue.
