SUNMAN, Ind. — In the first of four meetings that will influence the future of large-scale solar projects in Dearborn County, hundreds filled the Sunman American Legion to call for county officials to place a moratorium on the developments for a year.
"STOP Solar Farm" signs lined the building and covered cars in the parking lot, people streaming in paused to sign a petition and a table along the wall offered homemade anti-solar farm cookies for sale.
Mark Hall was among those shaking hands and welcoming people into the town hall.
"We love the community," he said. "We feel it's heaven on earth."
Hall is a part of the crowd that doesn't feel solar farms have any place in the now wholly rural section of Indiana.
WATCH: We hear your concerns at the town hall in Sunman
"I'll be honest with you, I don't think there's anything they can do that will satisfy our community," Hall said.
Bobby Rauen created an online petition calling for a moratorium that gathered nearly 1,800 signatures.
He said protection of land is key in his mind.
"Really, the erasure of any prime farm land, somebody is going to suffer down the road. It's going to be a farmer," Rauen said.
Many in the crowd simply wanted to ensure that, if a facility is allowed to move into the community, they're bound by much stricter rules than those already codified into law by the county commission.
Sean DeLancey has been following solar development in Dearborn County since our most recent "Let's Talk" event. You can contact him here:
The Dearborn County Planning Commission is meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 at Dearborn South High School, according to Nicole Daily, Planning and Zoning director.
"In anticipation of a large turnout, public comments will be limited to topics related to Article 19 of the Dearborn County Zoning Ordinance, as well as ordinances pertaining to battery storage and data centers," Daily said. "To remain consistent with the agenda and applicable ordinances, we ask that public comments refrain from addressing specific solar projects that have not yet been formally submitted or presented."
The Dearborn County Commission will then consider the recommendation at their meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Dearborn County Government Center.
We reached out to Linea Energy last week, a developer that's planning a roughly 1,200-acre facility in Manchester Township, about the proposed moratorium. They sent us the following statement:
"We are aware of the proposed moratorium before the Plan Commission on February 23. I am excited to see the high level of civic engagement and pride in the democratic process on display in Dearborn County. Citizens have legitimate concerns that must be addressed before any solar project can proceed. We believe the current ordinance was crafted with those concerns in mind: setting clear compliance guidelines for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a solar farm that protect the health and well-being of the community. The ordinance also protects the free exercise of property rights, a core tenet of American values that has set us apart from our founding and has been integral to the vibrancy of our economic strength over the last 250 years."
Linea is hosting its own town hall from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Lawrenceburg Fairgrounds' Agner Hall.
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