Planning commissioners attach screening, signage and soil protections to Elm Grove 5 MW solar petition

Tazewell County Planning Commission members voted to recommend approval of petition 2528 S for a 5-megawatt solar array in Elm Grove Township, attaching several site-management and screening conditions.

The recommendation came after commissioners discussed parcel layout, setbacks and vegetation. Commissioners said the array would sit on about 28 acres on the back half of a farm and would be screened from the road with fencing and plantings.

The discussion focused on four or five standard conditions commissioners said they typically attach to solar petitions: maintenance of a seven-foot chain-link fence, a vegetative buffer immediately outside the perimeter, a double row of evergreen trees with 3-to-5-foot planting height for screening, clear emergency and nonemergency contact information posted at the main entrance and visible from the roadway, and, as discussed, a cover crop prior to construction to limit exposed soil and tracking.

Commissioner Coopy moved to put the case on the floor; Commissioner Fair seconded. Commissioner Lapsley moved to approve the findings of fact; Coopy seconded. The findings were approved by voice vote. In the recorded roll call on the petition, the transcript notes affirmative votes by Cooley, Mayer, Miller and Chairman Lawson; the commission announced the petition recommendation passed.

Commissioners said the array was sited away from the road and that vegetative screening and perimeter maintenance would be part of routine conditions. The commission also noted that some site-level surveys — a tile survey — had recently been completed and were part of the case file.

The commission’s action is a recommendation only; final authority on zoning and permits rests with the county board.

The commission did not change the underlying zoning in this proceeding; it attached procedural and site-management conditions it said would mitigate visual and soil impacts.