The Marshall County Commissioners were presented with amendments to the Marshall County zoning ordinance that pertains to large-scale solar energy systems and solar farm development standards.
Plan Director Ty Adley said a lot of research has been conducted into amending the zoning ordinance including site visits, the review of 10 different county ordinances, Indiana code, and topics included by the public during various public hearings.
The amendments address the size of systems kept to 12,000 acres of property in Marshall County, setbacks, buffering, drainage, power lines, glare, sound levels, lay down setbacks, construction parking, environmental reporting, emergency response plans, straight voltage and grounding site plan, decommissioning, restoration, bonding, and force majeure.
Adley noted that the Marshall County Plan Commission’s recommendation was 8-1 to present the amendments to the commissioners for their consideration. He added that there were 15 residents who spoke during the Plan Commission’s December 28 meeting, 45 letters or emails were read into to the record, and a petition was presented with 256 signatures of people who object to agricultural use for solar farms.
The commissioners approved the first reading of the ordinance by a vote of 2-1 with Kevin Overmyer and Michael Burroughs voting in favor of the motion and Stan Klotz opposed to the vote.
Even with these changes, those opposed to large-scale solar energy systems believes more needs to be done as several people spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
A public hearing on the amendments will be held Monday, February 5 during the next Marshall County Commissioners meeting that begins at 8:30 a.m. ET in the second floor meeting room (Room 203) in the Marshall County Building at 112 W. Jefferson Street in Plymouth.
