The Patrick County Board of Supervisors approved its amended solar ordinance and Comprehensive Plan at its June 12 meeting.
County Attorney Mark Popovich said the amendment to the originally adopted solar ordinance was because there is a question as to the authority of the county to adopt solar ordinance without zoning.
“As the county does not have zoning, the only option is to do reviews based on the comprehensive plan. So, this rewrite of the original ordinance is done and has kept everything exactly the same, nothing has changed,” he said.
Popovich said the amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan Chapter 11 – Land Use – is an added section regarding solar facilities “which will tie into previously adopted” regulations.
In other matters, the board:
*Heard from Jamie Clark, of the Peter’s Creek District, about the solar ordinance.
“More work needs to be done. The current proposed ordinance does not include a minimum distance between solar projects. There needs to be additional restrictions placed on these solar facilities just like your current cell tower ordinance,” he said.
Clark said there are also no restrictions on how much county land solar projects can occupy.
He said the Henry County Board of Supervisors is asking the county’s Planning Commission to begin the process of amending the ordinance to limit the number of solar panels in the county to one percent of the county’s total land mass.
“Additionally, the cap would be in addition to the existing restrictions such as a 2.5 percent density requirement. The new ordinance proposal does not include any similar type of language,” he said.
To put it into perspective, Clark said one percent of Henry County’s total land mass would equate to approximately 2,400 acres. There are approximately 12,000 acres currently in the process of development for industrial solar farm use in the county.
“Our neighbors to the northeast in Franklin County have recently rejected two solar farm proposals after public outrage. The latest public hearing was so opposed that citizens had to stand in the hallway because the hearing room was filled to capacity,” he said.
Clark said he knows the ordinance cannot address a company specifically.
He also noted that Energix recently held a public meeting in Stuart.
“Not one member of this board attended that meeting. Here you are making policy for the county, but when a company offers to hold a public meeting about their plans for investment in the county, not a single one of you bother to attend or show up,” he said.
Clark said Energix is based in Israel, and stated publicly at the meeting that it plans to bring more solar projects to the county.
“Apparently, money is of no concern to this company. They currently operate solar farms in Henry County and Wytheville and were recently fined $97,651 by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for violations,” he said.
*Heard from Kurt Bozenmayer, of the Smith River District, about improved communications to and from the county administration.
“I was pleased to see that the printed copies of the budgets and audit reports are now in place in the reference section of our branch library, and it appears that they are receiving some use by library patrons,” he said.
Bozenmayer said he also hopes the county will give updates on broadband every few months.
“Finally, I would like to thank the county administration staff for taking the time to address my inquiries and for responding to the issues raised, and I would like to thank the board of supervisors for providing this forum to address these concerns,” he said.
*Heard from Ed Pool, of the Blue Ridge District, about cadmium telluride, which is used in solar panels.
*Approved the May 8, May 15, and May 22 meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
*Approved a resolution honoring Virginia Public Health Nurse of the Year Pamela Rorrer, RN.
*Approved resolutions adding Fish Farm Lane and Handy Mountain Road to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Rural Rustic Roads list.
*Approved allowing the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office to seek a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to purchase and equip three new vehicles for the department.
*Approved the fiscal year 2023-2024 county budget.
*Heard an update on tourism from James Houchins, Tourism Director.
*Accepted the Department of Social Services (DSS) fiscal year 2024 appropriations.
*Accepted the Child Services Act fiscal year 2024 appropriations.
*Approved the VDOT proposed six-year highway plan and proposed construction budget.
*Heard the county administrator’s report.
*Heard the supervisors’ reports.
Denise Stirewalt, of the Peter’s Creek District, did not attend the meeting.
