The Jefferson County Plan Commission concluded final discussions on solar and other ordinance revisions. For some undisclosed reason, many critical decisions the board made deviated from the recommendations of the tech committee formed for this very purpose. Thankfully, this is only one of many steps yet to be completed.
The Plan Commission will schedule a public hearing on the proposed revisions in the coming weeks. This will be your opportunity to be heard and to request further revisions. As before, we must continue to stand strong and together as a community. We’ll keep you updated. God bless!
The Jefferson County Plan Commission will meet:
5:30 PM on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at the Courthouse Annex Building
Solar Ordinance Revisions will be discussed, based in-part on recommendations from the findings of the specially appointed Techincal Committee and your input.
This meeting is very important. Decisions made will govern the future of our famland in Jefferson County. Please attend!
The following ordinance revisions recommended by the Technical Committee are marked in red. The ordinance is still a work in progress. This is why your attendance sends a clear message to our county officials during this crucial phase.
The Technical Committee last met on March 18, 2025 in an unadvertised to-the-public final meeting where the lawfirm Stites & Harbison representing certain landowners leased to Orion Renewables presented their own proposed amendments to the Solar Ordinance. How did they know about the meeting, one might ask?
As you can imagine, the viewpoints expressed in the below letter are very different from the majority of citizens who successfully petitioned our BZA for the denial of Orion’s Idlewild project in Jefferson County.
Orion has filed an appeal for judicial review which is currently pending. Jefferson County currently has a temporary moratorium on new solar applications which does not apply to Orion’s appeal.
