Another Pulaski County solar farm has gotten the green light from the board of zoning appeals. The BZA approved a special exception Monday for the Moss Creek Solar project, with Board President Derrick Stalbaum abstaining. That was despite opposition from members of the public, as well as questions about the legality of the board’s actions from both opponents and the developer itself.
The BZA ultimately required a property value guarantee as a condition of approval. But as board members debated the terms, developer NextEra’s attorney warned that the requirement is something the company would ordinarily “probably sue about.” After several minutes of negotiation, the developer and the board members eventually came to an apparent agreement.
Meanwhile, attorney Jason Kuchmay, representing a number of opponents to the county’s solar projects, argued that the Moss Creek request had many of the same problems that caused Mammoth Solar’s special exception to be rejected in court. Although more than 100 pages of application documents had been received, Kuchmay said many items were still missing, incomplete, or submitted too late to allow the request to proceed.
Monday’s meeting took almost four hours and 45 minutes, with more than three hours of public comment. Of the 32 people who ended up speaking, only nine appeared to be in favor. Again, individuals debated whether another solar farm fits in with the county’s goal of preserving farmland, as well as the potential impact on property values.
Opponents argued that much of the increased tax revenue from the solar panels would be offset by a decrease in tax revenue from farmland, an idea disputed by Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer. He said an economic impact study would be completed before any economic development agreement is approved.
