Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

ALBION — The Noble County Plan Commission did talk commercial solar Wednesday night.

But topics covered were likely not what the crowd of approximately 20 people were most interested in.

That highly anticipated meeting — a wide-ranging discussion involving multiple county departments — will take place beginning at 10 a.m. on Aug. 1 in the larger meeting room at the new Noble County Annex located just to the west of the Noble County Courthouse.

Noble County Plan Commission president George Bennett said the Aug. 1 meeting will be a joint affair of the Noble County Commissioners and the plan commission. Among the commercial solar topics will be tax abatements, assessments and a discussion on if — and how — the commissioners might set a limit on the amount of ground allowed to be covered by commercial solar panels.

The regular session of the commissioners will kick off at 8:30 a.m.

The plan commission did recommend to the commissioners some changes to the solar zoning ordinance during Wednesday’s regularly scheduled meeting, but those involved wording changes for clarification — not overall policy discussions.

The plan commission recommended wording changes in one section, for example, that stipulated if a portion of a parcel is covered by the commercial zoning overlay, the portion not covered by the overlay would maintain its original zoning designation.

The recommendation will go to the Noble County Commissioners.

The plan commission tabled a decision that would create new setbacks for farming operations which near — but don’t meet — confined feeding operation standards.

Noble County Plan Director Teresa Tackett gave the example of a recent chicken barn constructed in Noble County. If such an operation has 30,000 or more birds, it has to comply with setback requirements and other regulations set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Agency for such confined feeding operations.

That particular operation was planning on housing 29,900 birds — just under the limit.

For such operations that close in on the IDEM limits, Tackett had recommended changing the setback from 100 feet to 150 feet.

Plan commission member Tom Griffiths motioned to table the discussion, citing the current economic pressures farmers are facing due to inflation. Member Jeff Cunningham provided the second.

The decision to table passed unanimously.

The plan commission did vote to change its zoning ordinance to allow for gravel, stone and rock to be permitted as parking materials in areas zoned Lake Residential.

The county’s original ordinance only allowed asphalt, concrete and other non-porous materials.

Porous materials are more appropriate for areas that are generally wet.

No one from the public spoke regarding either of those issues.

Another topic for Aug. 1 could be when the county will allow people to start the long application process, which will involve multiple public meetings.

On April 25, the commissioners enacted a 120-day moratorium that closed the permit process for companies wanting to apply for a solar operation in Noble County. That application would be based on the ordinance the commissioners passed in November 2021.

No companies had applied for permits prior to the moratorium.

Noble County Commissioners president Gary Leatherman had said at a joint meeting of the plan commission and commissioners in June he would like to see changes to the county ordinance before that moratorium expires in late August regarding limits.

At the meeting where the ordinance was passed in November, Leatherman had an informal chat with Noble County Plan Director Teresa Tackett regarding limits. The plan commission has had similar conversations.

The ordinance set up the guidelines to apply for the creation of a solar field in Noble County. The creation of the ordinance took more than a year of debate as proponents and opponents offered compelling reasons for and against large-scale solar operations.

What the ordinance didn’t do was set those limits.

That June discussion never led to an exact maximum percentage of land given over to solar being offered and then debated.

The commissioners have the final say in zoning matters, the plan commission provides recommendations to the commissioners for passage or refusal based on guidelines found in various county ordinances.

Leatherman and Commissioners Dave Dolezal and Anita Hess said they did not want to so much solar that it would affect the rural nature of the county.

The solar zoning ordinance’s creation was spurred on by state efforts last year to set statewide zoning law concerning the issue. Noble County officials wanted to have its own ordinance on the books before that happens.

The issue is also timely because Geenex, a North Carolina-based company, has been contacting Noble County landowners and offering $900 per acre on a long term lease, escalating to an average of $1,200 per acre, to create a large solar field in north-central Noble County.

Now that the rules have been established, Geenex can pursue its project, which has been rumored to include anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 acres in northcentral Noble County, encompassing an area roughly bordered on the north by the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks, to the east by Cobblestone Golf Course, to the south by C.R. 400N, and to the west, just west of S.R. 9.

At the higher acreage, the project would produce approximately 300 megawatts annually.

Part of the rules set by the commissioners last November was be how close the panels can be put up next to a residential property that isn’t participating in the program. The distances are 50 feet from a property line and at least 300 feet from any point on the foundation of a home.

Passage of the rules in ordinance form came after months of sometimes heated debate between pro-solar and those opposed to it coming so close to their homes.

On May 14, the commissioners approved an ordinance setting a fee schedule for companies that want to set up solar fields.

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.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.