Boone County IN Moratorium

ORDINANCE NO. 2024-06
BOONE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM ON
COMMERCIAL OR LARGE-SCALE SOLAR AND WIND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
GENERATION AND STORAGE PROJECTS, SYSTEMS, OR FACILITIES

WHEREAS, the Area Planning law of the Sate of Indiana (I.C. 36-7-4, et seq.) empowers the Boone County Area Plan Commission (“APC”) to make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners of Boone County, Indiana concerning the land use, zoning, or districting of lands within the unincorporated areas of Boone County, Indiana; and

WHEREAS, the majority of unincorporated Boone County is zoned AG (Agricultural), and Boone County’s Comprehensive Plan, which serves as a guide for future growth and development, aspires to, “strike a balance between future growth and economic development with a plan that focuses on agriculture and economic development, industry, and maintains the
rural character and quality of life that so many Boone County residents enjoy and cherish.”‘; and

WHEREAS, Neither the Boone County Comprehensive Plan, as adopted in 2009, nor the Boone County Zoning Ordinance, as adopted in 1998, contemplated or considered commercial or large scale solar, wind or alternative energy generation and storage projects and their impacts on unincorporated Boone County; and

WHEREAS, on March [8,2024, the Board of Commissioners of Boone County, as part of its regular meeting, received comments from the public regarding a moratorium on the development of commercial or large-scale solar and wind alternative energy projects, systems, or facilities; the majority of those who spoke were in support of it; and

WHEREAS, the APC has received numerous emails from citizens regarding a moratorium on the development of commercial or large-scale solar and wind alternative energy projects, systems, or facilities; the vast majority were in support of a moratorium; and

WHEREAS, on April 3, 2024, the APC, as part of its regular meeting, voted unanimously to affirm a letter as its position to request the Board of Commissioners adopt a development moratorium on new large-scale solar and wind facilities in unincorporated Boone County for a period of two (2) years. In its letter, the APC acknowledged its continued work towards a revised
and updated Comprehensive Plan and recognized that the Board of Commissioners recently approved the Overlay Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, which will regulate growth along primary highways in unincorporated Boone County. Moreover, the APC noted that, while crafting the Overlay Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, it conducted multiple public hearings during
which numerous attendees resoundingly and repeatedly emphasized the desire to retain as much rural character and agricultural land as possible; and

WHEREAS, at an April 4, 2024 a joint public meeting of the Board of Commissioners and the County Council and attended by the APC, and Boone County Area Board of Zoning Appeals (“BZA”), in excess of two hundred (200) citizens attended and were invited to voice their opinions regarding commercial or large-scale solar and wind alternative energy projects, systems, or facilities. The overwhelming majority of those who spoke supported a moratorium on such developments and cited various concerns, including economic viability of alternative energy projects, soil degradation and contamination, potential undesirable effects on the economy, electricity rates, grid stability, and property values, and the desire to retain Boone County’s biodiversity, community aesthetics, and prime farmland; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners believe that a moratorium on the filing, processing, review, and acceptance of any applications for commercial or large-scale solar or wind alternative energy projects, systems, or facilities, for a period of two (2) years is in the best interests of the citizens of Boone County, is necessary to ensure the public health, safety, and general welfare, and will provide sufficient time for the analysis and careful consideration of various complex issues concerning such developments and their potential impacts on our community and will provide sufficient time for such considerations to be incorporated into revisions to the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance.