The Lake County Plan Commission will hold a public hearing July 15 to discuss an amended ordinance that would require public hearings for solar panel farm projects, stemming from the council’s attempt to amend the ordinance without requiring public hearings for such projects.
If approved, the amended ordinance would apply to all future solar panel farm project proposals, not just a recently proposed 1,400-acre solar panel farm in Eagle Creek Township, said Ned Kovachevich, director of the Lake County Plan Commission.
In April, Invenergy, a Chicago-based company that works in wind, solar, natural gas and energy storage, proposed to build a 200-megawatt panel farm by 2024, Katya Samoteskul, manager of renewable development for Invenergy, previously said.
The company presented its proposal to the Lake County Council. In response, the council passed a resolution, to be considered by the Plan Commission, that would make solar panel farms a permitted use, Lake County Council attorney Ray Szarmach previously said.
But, consultants hired by the Lake County Commissioners have proposed solar panel farms as a special exception, Szarmach said. The consultant was hired about six months to a year ago and has been reviewing the county’s zoning code, he said.
After learning about the consultant’s recommendation, which officials said the council wasn’t aware of until after it approved its resolution, the council voted to rescinded its June 16 resolution so that the plan commission can consider the consultant’s recommendation.
“The best thing would be to rescind our resolution, which would stop the process of our amendments to the code … and go forward with the changes to our ordinance already prepared by the consultant,” Szarmach said at the meeting.
Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, said that he reached out the council to inform them about the consultant’s recommendation.
“In the middle of everything, I sent a note to the council that said I’d prefer we don’t take two actions on this and go with what the consultant recommends,” Tippy said.
At its June 17 meeting, the Plan Commission voted to hold a public hearing to consider the ordinance the consultant proposed for solar panel farms, Kovachevich said.
The plan commission was more supportive of considering an ordinance that would make solar panel farms a special exception, which is what the consultants proposed, because then such projects would require a public hearing, Kovachevich said.
Under the council’s proposal to make the solar panel farms a permitted use, such projects would — in the most simple terms — allow project managers to file paperwork to establish the solar farm within a specific area without holding a public hearing, Kovachevich said.
“What the council was trying to do with their resolution was to allow solar panels to go anywhere in agriculturally zoned districts by right, so what that would mean was — forget about this solar company that wants to come in here — any solar company could come in and come to our office and take out a building permit and plop down … solar panels around a subdivision,” Kovachevich said.
Residents raised concerns with allowing solar panel farms without a public hearing, Kovachevich said.
“A lot of the people on the outside were saying ‘you’re not protecting us because we wouldn’t have a chance to comment.’ Well, at the public hearing, they would have a chance to comment,” Kovachevich said.
If, following the July public hearing, the Plan Commission approves an ordinance mandating solar panel farms as a special exception, it would apply to all such projects, Kovachevich said.
Invenergy has not yet filed its proposal with the Plan Commission, Kovachevich said.
In an email Tuesday, Samoteskul said that special use permits for solar development “are fairly common and Invenergy has worked through similar processes before.”
“Assuming the final standards and regulations Lake County adopts make it possible to develop and build a solar energy center, Invenergy is very excited to continue working in Lake County to deliver the economic benefits this project will bring to the community,” Samoteskul said.
