St. Joseph County Council to consider solar farm moratorium and even more restrictions

Joseph Dits, South Bend Tribune
·3 min read
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Residents protest the solar farms that Hexagon Energy is planning as they line up by the County-City Building in South Bend on June 11, 2024.
Residents protest the solar farms that Hexagon Energy is planning as they line up by the County-City Building in South Bend on June 11, 2024.

Proposals for a one-year moratorium on solar farms and extra changes to St. Joseph County’s solar ordinance are coming to the county council on July 9.

These are in addition to greater restrictions for solar farms, which the council was already set to vote on at the meeting.

These two new resolutions are sponsored by two separate groups of council members.

Republicans Amy Drake, Randy Figg and Joe Thomas are sponsoring the plea for the solar moratorium. It asks the county’s Area Plan Commission to draft it. The council itself couldn’t enact such a moratorium without help from the APC, according to council attorney Jamie O’Brien.

Drake has led the charge for seeking more restrictions on large solar operations after residents raised alarms recently over Virginia-based Hexagon Energy’s plans to erect solar farms on 2,300 to 2,500 acres of farmland in the North Liberty area.

The intent is to retighten regulations that the county council, with different members, had relaxed in 2020 to encourage such large-scale solar operations on farmland. One key provision is that it would require solar farms to gain a special use permit, which would require it to be approved by the council.

June 2024: Mixed views pepper long hearing on tighter rules for solar farms in St. Joe County

It’s hotly debated, as more than 40 people spoke with a mix of views at the Area Plan Commission meeting in June.

The other new resolution is sponsored by Republican Dan Schaetzle and Democrats Rafael Morton, Diana Hess, Mark Catanzarite and Bryan Tanner. In it, they’d ask the Area Plan Commission to draft extra restrictions.

According to county documents, here’s what their new resolution would seek:

∎ A requirement that solar panels be at least 500 feet from a “non-participating” neighbor’s home, up from 250 feet in the original proposal. The panels would also have to be at least 150 feet from that neighbor’s property line.

∎ The panels would also have to be at least 50 feet from a property that is zoned or used for agriculture.

∎ The panels would also have to be at least 500 feet from any public or private park or nature preserve.

This map shows the more than 2,000 acres where Hexagon Energy is lining up leases for solar farms near North Liberty as of June 2024.
This map shows the more than 2,000 acres where Hexagon Energy is lining up leases for solar farms near North Liberty as of June 2024.

∎ A fully landscaped buffer would be required along the property line of residential properties, parks and nature preserves.

∎ The solar project manager would have to repair any damage that the solar installation might cause to waterways, ditches and drainage tiles. Solar farms would also be subject to oversight by the county’s drainage board.

Drake has previously said she’d like to see expanded restrictions pass right away, then also see a moratorium enacted. She's said it would provide time to study the possible effects of solar farms. Opponents have made an array of claims speculating about the impact on wildlife, the ecosystem and property values.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. July 9 in the County-City Building in South Bend and online on Zoom.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Solar farm moratorium and extra restrictions come to county council