Greenwood County Council says solar farm neighbors must be notified
In a split vote on Tuesday, the County Council opted to add a controversial amendment to its newly adopted solar ordinance that will require neighboring property owners to be notified once a project is permitted.
The 4-3 vote came over objections by council chairman Steve Brown and County Attorney Stephen Baggett, who said they worried about the legal ramifications of such a move.
The notification would be distributed after a project secures permits, and does not trigger an appeal process should an objection surface.
However, proponents — led by councilwoman Edith Childs — said the right of abutting property owners to know about such a new use should prevail.
“To me, we’re singling out one type of entity. If we set up an ordinance and put conditions in which a solar farm can gain a permit and they follow that to the letter of the law, what else can be done,” Brown said.
Childs, whose district spans a rural part of the county, disagreed.
“My district is predominantly rural, and many families have reason for not wanting things going to go next door to them, and they need to be notified,” she said. “I think people need to be aware of what’s going on around them”
Phil Lindler, the county’s planning director, said the extra notification would be unusual given a solar farm’s already permitted use.
“In this case, this would be a permitted use that you’re identifying already, so this is just an additional notification because unless there was a rezone, we wouldn’t normally provide that,” he said.
Baggett advised the council against including the amendment in its ordinance.
“First of all, this could allow for a worthy project to be defeated if by some unusual negligence that letter is not mailed. This presents just another opportunity for there to be a problem with the process,” he said. “I think you are also wise to anticipate that someone might object to their lack of notification to an industrial project, and might argue the county has assumed the duty to notify all property owners of any pending change of use.”
Childs was joined by councilmen Mark Allison, Gonza Bryant and Bob Fisher, while Brown, Chuck Moates and Robbie Templeton voted against the amendment. But the council was unanimous in approving the solar ordinance as a whole once the new language was added.
Bryant said because solar farms would be a brand new use in the county, informing adjacent property owners about any that get a permit makes sense.
Penny tax
Also on Tuesday, the council took its first step toward finalizing a November referendum question that, if approved by voters, would impose a 1 percentage point increase on the local sales tax over the next 8 years to finance $72 million worth of capital improvement projects.
Officials unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance implementing a sales and use tax for Greenwood, Hodges, Ninety Six, Troy and Ware Shoals. The move would raise an estimated $9.35 million a year through 2025 — with all funds covering costs of 27 projects hand picked by a commission that spent months poring over 54 applications.
A public hearing and second reading is slated for July 19, where the council is expected to get more information on each of the 27 projects being considered. The council has authority to vote on whether the referendum question should appear on November’s ballot.
County Manager Toby Chappell said officials will have eight years to collect the tax, but completing the projects will take longer.
“The law requires the referendum question indicate the priority generally, but it does not require the list to be followed ‘or else.’ The law allows the county some flexibility in moving other projects on the list,” he said.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Jul 5, 2016
By ADAM BENSONabenson@indexjournal.com
Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-county-council-says-solar-farm-neighbors-must-be-notified/article_61b4fa09-e24a-5b5b-a912-4f4e2ae017ae.html