Planning Commission disapproves solar panel farm ZOTA
Rural Fayette County farmland. Source: Flickr
Last Thursday, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to disapprove a zoning ordinance text amendment (ZOTA) that would allow industrial solar farms to be built on agricultural land in Fayette County.
The ZOTA was filed by Silicon Ranch, a private Tennesee-based company who is looking to build an industrial solar farm in Lexington. Currently, solar farms are not regulated in our zoning code, so a ZOTA would be needed to allow them.
The ZOTA would have allowed standalone solar panels as a conditional use in the Agricultural-Rural (A-R) zone.
A conditional use means that a developer would need special permission from the Board of Adjustment to build a solar farm.
Planning Commission’s vote of disapproval is technically a recommendation that is sent to Council. Council can:
Vote to agree with the Planning Commission’s disapproval recommendation. This would mean that the ZOTA is officially denied and solar farms would continue to not be permitted on agricultural land.
Vote to disagree with the Planning Commission’s recommendation. If Council did that, the ZOTA would be approved and solar farms would be permitted in agricultural zones.
Council will vote on this ZOTA sometime in the next month or so.
