PAWNEE COUNTY – The Pawnee County Commissioners, as part of agenda business Monday, adopted zoning regulations for privately developed solar farms in Pawnee County.

The regulations were developed by the Pawnee County Joint Planning Commission, which conducted a public hearing on Nov. 9 to discuss changes and submit the recommended final result to the Commissioners for approval.

As approved, Resolution 2023-R-10 provides a “regulatory scheme for the construction and operation of Commercial Solar Energy Conversion Systems (CSECS) and/or Commercial Solar Energy Facilities (CSEF) in Pawnee County,” subject to reasonable restrictions which will preserve the public health and safety.

Both operations will be subject to the conditional use permit process.

Submission requirements

The resolution provides definitions as well as a plan for development that is to be submitted with the conditional use permit application. A listing of parameters and proposed metrics are to be submitted to the Zoning Board for recommendation.

Compliance documentation to be submitted includes the developer and managers and contractors associated with the proposed project, as well as the owner.

A written document from the Kansas Department of  Wildlife and Parks stating their concerns, if any, and a safety plan with identified potential fire risks are also to be included.

The resolution also provides structural requirements and limits in regard to height, perimeter area, setbacks and reflection or glare restrictions.

On Monday, discussion resulted in an amended portion of the resolution in regard to noise standards with levels set at a maximum of 60 decibels, or 50 decibels if a “pure tone noise” is generated by the project.

Permit requirements and fees were also set that includes both conversion systems and each solar array constructed.

Background

The Zoning Board began researching its regulations back in April following news of the project proposed by Acciona Energy, a multinational energy company. The proposal sought to place a five-acre solar farm at the Pawnee County-Edwards County border.

At that time, the county had no written regulations regarding solar farms. 

The resulting approved regulations were devised from a template of those regulations adopted recently by Ford County, noted Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett.

The resolution amends the county’s zoning regulation to include Article 37 – Solar Farms. The resolution as approved is available at the Pawnee County Clerk’s Office or on the Pawnee County website.