Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 62F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 62F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Amanda Kline of southern Allen County is against converting agricultural land into solar projects.
Attendees of an Allen County Plan Commission hearing on a solar panel amendment raised their hands when they were asked if they are from southeast Allen County, where a solar farm has been discussed.
Amanda Kline of southern Allen County is against converting agricultural land into solar projects.
Attendees of an Allen County Plan Commission hearing on a solar panel amendment raised their hands when they were asked if they are from southeast Allen County, where a solar farm has been discussed.
An Allen County zoning amendment presented at a public hearing Aug. 11 showed the divide between those who want to keep agriculture land for farming and those who want to take advantage of the income that generating solar power there could bring them.
Each side presented its view of property rights at the public hearing before the Allen County Plan Commission. The commission will take the comments under advisement and make its decision — for, against or no recommendation — at 1 p.m. Aug. 18 in Room 030 of Citizens Square, 200 E. Berry St., Fort Wayne, that will go to the Allen County commissioners. That three-member board has the final say on the matter.
It was the commissioners who requested a better definition of ground-mounted solar panels in the zoning ordinance dealing with unincorporated Allen County for commercial-scale solar operations, since the late amendment in January 2018, said Patrick Rew, deputy director of the Allen County department of planning services deputy director.
At the commissioners' July 15 meeting, Nelson Peters and Rich Beck voted to seek the amendment after getting numerous complaints and questions about a proposed southeast Allen County solar farm.
The proposed amendment satisfies the commissioners' request to better describe small-scale ground-mounted operations such as those used by homeowners and businesses to supplement their power use compared to large-scale operations that generate energy specifically for the power grid, Rew said. Ground-mounted solar panels are special uses in the zoning districts and always require a public hearing. So far, all applicants have fallen into this special use category. If applicants don't, or exceed the new proposed parameters, they must request a use variance, which still goes to the Allen County Board of Zoning Appeals, Rew said.
The amendment adds three parameters:
• maximum ground coverage of 20,000 square feet (less than a half-acre)
• must be an accessory to a primary building
Building-mounted solar panels are permitted in all districts and this definition amendment address solar in the same fashion as wind energy in handled, Rew said. A large wind energy system, for example, would require a special use variance.
The public hearing at Citizens Square was standing-room only with some not addressing the comments on the amendment, but on commercial solar projects in general. Most of those in favor of solar energy who spoke were from outside the region and said that the county should put in the time, estimated by Rew at around 6 months to a year, to create an ordinance to address solar energy.
Tom LoTurco of Indianapolis, executive vice president of AEP Renewables, which has built over 2,000 megawatts of "clean" generation projects with $3 billion in investments in the state in wind and solar energy projects, said the company is currently working on the Flat Rock Creek Solar project, a $400 million solar project that will generate 200 MW and 50MW of battery storage in 2025.
LoTurco said the company favors an ordinance change versus the proposed amendment.
"After reviewing the proposed amendment language, we're deeply concerned these changes will create an insurmountable legal threshold to prevent any solar project in the county," LoTurco said.
The legal standard to secure a use variance that requires the land to be unusable for its set purpose is a bit vague and seems impossible to meet, he said.
"For example, is this standard requiring us to show the agricultural fields that are currently farmed for corn and beans can no longer be used for that? Solar parks allow for farmers to harness the sun for a 21st-century crop, in our opinion: electrons to make energy. This proposed legal standard is removing the rights of the farmer, the farmers we've signed up in the county, to choose what they can farm on their property."
Barry Steinman of Woodburn, the Jackson Township trustee, said he has family who are stakeholders in the proposed solar farm in Jefferson Township. Jefferson Township like other rural townships in Allen County is struggling to raise real estate tax dollars for schools, fire service and other services/ Farm real estate taxes are rising, but farm incomes are variable, creating stress, he said.
"Whereas, infrastructure of these solar farms will provide a substantial boost in the tax base," with taxes paid by solar companies, he said.
These projects won't require added infrastructure such as roads or put a burden on schools that subdivisions might, he said. A solar farm could actually enhance the soil by leaving it follow for 30 years while it increased organic matter.
"As a landowner, I always thought we had a lot of freedom to make choices on the use of our land as long as it didn't infringe on the property rights of our neighbors," he said.
Amanda Kline of southern Allen County, who wore a T-shirt against solar farms in Allen County, said she and her husband farm and see the need for food.
"It seems to me that we can live without electricity but we can't live without food," she said.
Brent Hoffman, chairman of the Jefferson Township board, said, "The people who live in the area of the solar should help make the decision. We have to look at it."
Hoffman asked those who were in Jefferson Township to raise their hands. Most in the room did.
Judy Gerardot of Monroeville said she had a petition with 782 signatures and "more coming" against a solar park.
"We like our fields," she said after saying large-scale solar farms would disrupt drainage.
This proposed legal standard is removing the rights of the farmer, the farmers we've signed up in the county, to choose what they can farm on their property."
Tom LoTurco, executive vice president of AEP Renewables
It seems to me that we can live without electricity but we can't live without food."
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.