DEARBORN COUNTY, Ind. — The Dearborn County Plan Commission voted unanimously 8-0 against forming an advisory committee to amend commercial ordinances regarding solar, battery energy storage systems and data centers.
The vote took place Monday evening, during the commission's first meeting since a 12-month moratorium on such developments was enacted in February. Elected officials said there will still be opportunities for public input throughout the ordinance process.
Signs opposing the developments currently line Weisburg Road, where a solar farm development has been proposed. Linea Energy is planning what could be a 1,200-acre solar farm in Manchester Township.
Monday's meeting was filled to capacity with residents looking to voice their opinions of the plan.
Watch moments from the meeting below:
"This is the most important issue to ever come before our county," said one resident during public discussion.
Community members in Dearborn County have been very vocal about the development, citing property value, environmental, and property rights concerns. Residents first brought the issue to us at a Let's Talk event in January.
Bobby Rauen, a petitioner who led the push for the moratorium and took the podium Monday night in support of a Citizen Advisory Committee expressed his disappointment on the commission's decision after about an hour of public discussion.
"It seems like we’re gonna be sort of excluded from direct communication through the process. They said there'll be workshops for us to get involved with, think we saw tonight. The process was a bit disordered, a bit archaic, so we’re just concerned about a time crunch. We’ve already spent two months and we have nothing to show for it," Rauen said.
Chris Barry, senior development director from Linea Energy also took the podium but was met with boos and rumblings, with some in the crowd even turning their backs while he spoke. We've previously spoken to Barry at past meetings; he's told us the company's other projects haven't face the same level of community concern.
Despite the pushback, Barry said Linea plans to continue showing up and seeing the process through.
"We want to stay involved in the process. I think we want to hear from citizens, but I think it’s important to understand from the industry's perspective," Barry said. "We know a lot about solar, we know a lot about battery storage systems. We don’t know much about data centers, but you know if we can contribute to the conversation we’d be glad to."
It will now be up to the county commissioners to decide if a review committee is formed at that level, as recommended by the Plan Commission.
The first in a series of informational workshops will be held May 20, where officials said there will be more opportunities for public input.
