The Envision Jefferson 2035 Comprehensive Plan (adopted in 2015) mentioned renewable energy, but it did not include any specific references or guidance for developing industrial-scale solar generation facilities. At the beginning of 2020, the Jefferson County zoning ordinance also had no provisions for permitting industrial-scale solar generation facilities anywhere in the county.
At its February 2020 meeting, the Jefferson County Planning Commission held a worksession to discuss amending the county’s zoning ordinance to allow for industrial-scale solar projects to be developed in Jefferson County. The Planning Commission was responding to correspondence it had received in December 2019 from a local landowner and Torch, a solar project development company. The landowner’s letter stated:
I am requesting that the County amend its Zoning Ordinance to allow for solar farms in the Rural District as a Conditional Use. Solar is a safe, quiet, and passive use of the land, and would provide value to landowners and the County as a whole. It would also be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s stated goal: the “Enhancement of the Rural Economy.”
A Solar Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance — Adopted, Then Vacated
Following the worksession, the Planning Commission directed its staff to propose a draft text amendment to the county zoning ordinance, which ultimately resulted in text amendment ZTA19-03, which the Planning Commission sent as a recommendation to the County Commission in July 2020. The Planning Commission recommendation for the text amendment expanded the areas of the county where industrial-scale solar projects could be permitted to include residential growth and other districts in addition to the rural district. The Planning Commission’s 2020 recommendation also designated solar facilities as a principal permitted use (versus the originally-requested conditional use permit type) in all of these zoning districts.
[READ MORE: A Look at Rural Zoning, Permitted Use & Conditional Use]
Following the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the Jefferson County Commission held two workshops and a public hearing on the proposed amendment during the summer and early fall of 2020. The County Commission then voted in October 2020 to adopt the amendment (ZTA19-03) to the zoning ordinance. In December 2020, the County Commission voted to vacate their approval of the amendment, citing procedural issues, and requested the Planning Commission to review the proposed amendment again.
Restarting The Zoning Amendment Process
On February 9, 2021, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the ZTA19-03 amendment at its regular meeting. On February 23, the Planninc Commission convened a special meeting to discuss the public comments and the amendment language. Both of these meetings were conducted online only. The agenda packet for the February 23 meeting which includes the proposed amendment text and comments submitted by the public is available at the Jefferson County website (link).
Following the discussion at the February 23, 2021 meeting, the Planning Commission requested its legal council to prepare an analysis of the compatibility of the proposed amendment with the County’s comprehensive plan. The Planning Commission reviewed this legal analysis on March 9, 2021 and voted to recommend the proposed amendment to the County Commission.
A Solar Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance — Adopted Again
On April 12, 2021, the Jefferson County Commission held a public hearing and then voted 3-1 to approve text amendment ZTA19-03 to the Jefferson County Zoning and Land Development Ordinance. The motion to approve the amendment was made by Commission President Josh Compton, who then called for a motion to enter executive session to receive legal advice. Following the executive session, Compton amended his motion to add additional language to the zoning amendment to allow for a reduced setback of 50 feet from the property line if a vegetation screen is provided by the developer. Commissioners Josh Compton, Caleb Hudson and Tricia Jackson voted to approve the setback revision and Commissioner Jane Tabb voted against the revision. The vote on the main motion was the same, with Commissioners Compton, Hudson and Jackson voting for the zoning amendment and Commissioner Tabb voting against. Commissioner Steve Stolpher did not attend the April 12 meeting, citing his practice to recuse himself from any of the discussions on the solar text amendment.
In the language of the motion, the Commission stated that if found “the amendment consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan, and to the extent the amendment is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan, we find that there have been major changes in the economic, physical and social nature of the area involved that were not anticipated when the Comprehensive Plan was adopted and those changes have substantially altered the basic characteristics of the area,” and made the motion effective April 13, 2021 (the following day).
With this ZTA19-03 amendment, Jefferson County’s zoning ordinance allowed industrial-scale solar energy facilities to process as a principal permitted use (i.e., by right) in the rural, residential growth, general commercial, highway commercial, light industrial, major industrial, residential light industrial-commercial, and industrial commercial zoning districts.
The following week, on April 21, Commissioner Josh Compton publicly confirmed that he would be resigning from the Commission, effective May 1 2021.
Solar Amendment Rejected by Court
On August 16, 2021 Judge Debra McLaughlin, in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, issued a ruling that invalidated the text amendment ZTA19-03 to the Jefferson County zoning ordinance. In her ruling, Judge McLaughlin found insufficient evidence that the amendment was in agreement with Jefferson County’s Comprehensive Plan, stating that the required findings of facts by the Commission “to be woefully lacking in any reference to the comprehensive plan, noting that they contain only 2 citations to the comprehensive plan and only one of the two actually speaks in favor of solar energy.”
A Court Settlement Restarts The Amendment Process Again
On April 5, 2022, the County Commission announced a settlement in the ZTA19-03 court case. The Commission voted to proceed with a new revision of the amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to allow for utility-scale solar projects based on the previosly-invalidated amendment but with added restrictions depending on the land use designation in the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission then requested the Planning Commission to draft a new zoning ordinance amendment based on this motion.
The Planning Commission reviewed a draft of the new revision of the amendment at its April 19 2022 meeting and held a public hearing on the draft amendment on May 17 2022. Immediately following the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted to approve the draft amendment and forward it to the County Commission, with a finding that the proposed “draft text amendment is consistent with the Envision Jefferson 2035 Comprehensive Plan.” Planning Commission members voting to approve were Mike Shepp, Matt Knott, Wade Louthan, Jack Hefestay, Donnie Fisher, and J. Ware; Shane Roper and Steve Stolipher recused themselves from the discussion and vote; Ron Thomas was absent with notice from the meeting.
At its meeting two days later, on May 19, the County Commission voted to schedule a public hearing on the proposed amendment on June 9, at 9:30 in the morning. Following comment from six individuals, the Commission closed the public hearing and then voted to accept and adopt the proposed text amendment. This motion was proposed by Commissioner Tricia Jackson and seconded by Commissioner Clare Ath. Commissioners Caleb Hudon and Jane Tabb voted against the motion, with Commissioner Steve Stolpher abstaining, resulting in a 2-2 tie, so the motion to adopt the proposed text amendment failed.
The following week, at the June 16 County Commission meeting, Commissioner Jackson again made a motion to accept and adopt the proposed ZTA22-01 text amendment. The vote at this meeting was 4-0 (with Commissioner Stolphier abstaining). The ZTA22-01 amendment to the zoning ordinance was effective immediately.