The Commissioners held a painful to watch third and final reading of proposed amendments to the Jefferson County Solar Ordinance, before voting to pass the amended-amended ordinance.
An amendment also passed adding pastureland to tillable land in the acreage taken out of service for commercial solar energy systems up to a maximum of 4,000 total acres countywide.
Commissioner Little again proposed increasing the proposed 500′ setback for non-participating land owners to 650′ as a compromise to the 1,000′ setback he agreed with initially.
Commissioner Lee, who seconded the 650′ setback in earlier meetings now backpedaled his decision. While he vacillated, his face blushed a shade of fire engine red when he stated 500′ was now sufficient.
In response to a question near the end of the meeting, Mr. Lee claims to have changed his mind after researching Facebook and Youtube since the last meeting on September 4th. Not that he would actually engage with concerned citizens. He also said if he were a solar developer he wouldn’t want to come to Jefferson County. Let’s hope he’s right.
Commissioner Bramer shifted from tirades over the USDA’s definition of prime AG land and his insistence that farmers helped to write our current comprehensive plan … to one of advocacy for the right of farmers to use their land as they want, implying solar.
Regarding the setback on more distance, Mr. Bramer said … “I don’t know if we’ve gone and looked at that.” He also stated that 1,000′ means you don’t want any [solar] coming.”
Commissioner Little responded “I think people should be able to use their property, but not at the expense of your neighbor.” I don’t think that’s asking a lot”. He then stated “that’s why we call it a democracy.”
Although the amended solar ordinance provides better protections to non-participating landowners than the Unified Development Ordinance it replaces, our elected and appointed officials have turned a blind eye, ignoring the industrial nature of commercial utility-scale solar.
By allowing Industrial Solar on our prime farmland, our county officials have opened the door to forever change our farming future on unfounded idle promises of developers to what – counter deficit tax revenues and God only knows what else?
Due to a 2025 change, Indiana statute IC 36-7-4-607.5 the commissioners now yield the power to make any amendments they see fit without sending the ordinance back to the Plan Commission for further readings and approval. How’s this working in our Constitutional Republic?
