Cerro Gordo supervisors set public hearing on banning large wind, solar developments in rural portions of county

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors today approved the language for an amendment to an ordinance that would ban future large-scale industrial-grade development of wind turbines, solar energy, or battery storage facilities in the rural portions of the county and set a public hearing on the change for later this month.

The supervisors last week accepted a 100-page report from the county’s Planning & Zoning Commission after the commission had held numerous public hearings earlier in the year to help study the issue, with the report having the recommendation that there not be future large-scale developments in the county.

Maria Brownell of the law firm Ahlers & Cooney drafted the amendment language and says personal use or on-site use would not be impacted by the changes.  “Industrial or utility scale is defined as including uses that are not intended primarily for on-site uses or accessory use or permitted principal use. Currently solar and wind that is primarily intended for on-site use is considered an accessory use. These definitions are applicable to uses that would be for sale, or use off-site, primarily use off-site or for sale.”

Brownell says the board may want to consider a future revision to place definitions in the zoning code to what extent those uses can be considered primary or they cross over into the commercial & industrial level.   “That wasn’t the board’s direction for today, but that would involve a more detailed ordinance that has specifications as to for example how many panels would constitute an industrial scale solar panel project or how much output of energy, for example, but those would be affirmative ordinances you’d have to give us direction on on that sort of thing.”

A public hearing about the amendment will be held at the supervisors’ December 23rd meeting with the first vote on the changes taking place after the hearing. The supervisors could choose to waive the second and third readings of the ordinance at that meeting since a moratorium on development ends on December 31st. 

Click here to read the proposed ordinance