AURORA, Ind. — The Dearborn County Planning Commission voted nearly unanimously Monday to recommend a 12-month moratorium on all solar project developments and data center proposals.
Dearborn County Commissioner and planning board member Jim Thatcher abstained from both votes, saying he would make his vote when the commission convenes to consider the issues on Tuesday.
The vote came after hundreds of people filled the South Dearborn High School auditorium and debated solar farm construction in the county for hours.
When Mark Hall asked every person in support of a 12-month moratorium on solar farm construction to stand, nearly every person in the room rose to their feet.
WATCH: We talk to a solar developer at the hours-long meeting considering a solar moratorium
Bobby Rauen has driven much of the effort to get a moratorium passed on the county level, and he addressed the commission, raising a thick stack of paper in the air.
"Over two thousand petitioners support a moratorium," he said, waving the stack.
Many of you have been telling us since our "Let's Talk" event in Lawrenceburg that property values, the loss of fertile farmland and a fundamental shift in the region's now-wholly rural area were concerns at the top of your minds.
While the commission said no developer has submitted an application to build a solar farm in Dearborn County, the reason behind the backlash is far from a secret.
Linea Energy is planning what could be a 1,200-acre solar farm in Manchester Township. Development director Chris Barry, whom we've talked to in previous reports, addressed the crowd during a half-hour-long presentation about the projects.
We spoke with Barry before the meeting began.
We asked if he expected the level of public participation in Southeast Indiana when the company was eyeing a development there.
"No, not necessarily," he said.
He said the company's other projects in Texas haven't faced similar backlash, but he didn't call the response a bad thing.
Sean DeLancey has been following solar farm development in Dearborn County for WCPO. You can contact him here:
"I'm proud that there is this much civic engagement," he said. "I think it's what makes our country great. While I didn't expect it, I'm proud to see it."
During his presentation, Barry proposed that members of the commission recommend a two or three-month moratorium so county commissioners can consider changes to Article 19, the ordinance governing solar farms.
He suggested changes to existing code, like limitations to work hours on the site and regularly updated decommissioning plans.
"We are making a lot of promises. We want the ordinances to demand that accountability of us. I think it's perfectly reasonable," Barry said.
The Planning Commission's moratorium recommendation will now be considered by the full Dearborn County Commission at a special meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Dearborn County Government Center.
