14 October 2026 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

 

14 October 2026 Dearborn County Plan Commission Meeting Notes

Present: Dennis Kraus, Jr., Chairman, Mark Lehman, Sabrina Gregory, Joe Vogel, Jake Hoog, Dan Lansing, Jim Thatcher, and Eric Lang

ABSENT: Russell Beiersdorfer

Also Present:  Nicole Daily, Planning and Zoning Director, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney.

Upon arrival I noticed that nearly half the chairs, usually kept in the room, were missing. Over 100 citizens were in the meeting room.With more going through the security check, 

When I asked if we could get more chairs, I was told that maintenance handles that and they are not available tonight. There were tables stacked against the left back wall and one was set out at the end of the chair rows there, leaving half the left side of the room empty of seating. The center of the room was missing about half their chairs too. Eventually, some spare chairs were found for a few more people. But 40 citizens  and voters) were left standing.

In addition several citizens were told they were not allowed to bring in water bottles. (Not sure how this was changed for some but not others. Long meetings like these require some fluids. The board members had theirs.)  

Baudendistel read the Title VI statement as legally required.

Solar Ordinance Meeting is primary on agenda

ACTION ON MINUTES: Tabled the November 2025 minutes as not enough were here to approve. 

OLD BUSINESS:none

NEW BUSINESS: Resolution to establish an economic development area for Givaudon property- as not enough info received on this yet. TABLED 

ADMINISTRATIVE: Approval of an interlocal agreement with Dillsboro- only assistance and reviewing plans. 3 year $4700 annual contract. Increase of 3% on the 4th year if they renew or have option to redo the contract. Application fees for reviews come to the Dearborn County PC Dept. APPROVED.

Meeting schedule is in packet to review for 2027. Will address at November meeting. 

PUBLIC HEARING- Solar Ordinance- 6:24 PM

3 people requested 10 minutes- will speak first. ( only 2 spoke first)

Laureen White- White Legal Services- Anderson IN- Represent several concerned citizens with a list attached in your binder- she passed out. They wanted to provide a simple alternate ordinance for your consideration. 

Keep in mind that in 1926- courts decided zoning. 1986- can adopt any broad agreement. List dates 5 criteria required for these ordinances. 

First review of Comp Plan shows how important rural land is to your citizens. Stressed growth with also preservation of farmland. 1500 acres is allowed for SES in our current ordinance. 

She lists the conflicts that SES has with Ag land. 

NOISE- page 15 shows this 45 DB

DECOMMISSIONING- - shows this and escrow account.

WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL 

SES declared unsafe can be declared public nuisance.

SETBACKS and LANDSCAPE BUFFER ZONES.- page 11 show this on proposed ordinance 

MOST DESIRABLE USE FOR LAND- Industrial uses belong in industrial zones. NOT FARMLAND

Consider the proposed amendments. Language protects both the county and its citizens.

Conservation of Property Values,- addressed in this ordinance.

Location Location Location- like realtors say…

No Commercial SES will enclose more than 2 sides of adjoining property.

Solar can be located in areas that are placed well away from existing homes. 

Productive land will not be converted back to AG- It will become industrial without having gone through a zone change.

Arbitrary and capricious. - 

Citizens have proposed you an alternate ordinance with documentation. Ask to have the process tabled until they can review this. 

Denise Spooner- came to present at request of Stop Solar Farms Group - real estate experience and also farmer’s daughter. Talked about property value guarantees. And counties that adopt them have not been sued. 

Cited paying attention to the reasonable regard items in the ordinance. She has testified in courts  and has been held by them. 

Talked about “takings” - and has testified to people who have had to sue Solar developers regarding this. For past 7 years she has testified against this. 

If the solar companies believe they do not affect property value- they would support these guarantees. 

Home owners will not stop trying to preserve their property values. 

In conclusion- Quote from Warren Buffett- Learn from your mistakes - but even better to learn from the mistakes of others. Permanent loss of our farmland is an important issue to her. Farmers have cried at the podium - when they see the loss of their lands.

Overlook angry comments and do the research you need to do. Just read a solar lease- it would help you to see the real issues.

Thatcher asked about appraisals- 

Get the appraisal of your property NOW - before the solar goes in. It’s the basis for future appraisals.

CHECK TAPE- Jake Hoog asked question????  

Lang asked - she answered - Madison County and Grant County did a really good solar ordinance- it went viral. Best 2 in her opinion. 

Also told them about the danger of public utilities buying the solar farm and the no property tax for county. 

Brenda Newberry- Would you lie to live next to a solar farm? Would you buy property next to one? She addressed setback comment from Beiersdorfer from last meeting- 

If people could do anything they wanted with their land - then we wouldn’t need zoning. Farmers who move and then lease to this solar. They wouldn’t want to live by one. Setbacks needed. Please give setbacks we are asking for. 

Sarah Jordan- Luxe Real estate. Lives on 7 acres in St Leon. Here representing our local real estate boards. What makes a property desirable and what makes it difficult to sell. When you purchase a rural property- you are expecting certain rural things. Local real estate owners asking for property value guarantee, for setbacks. Etc. The list of realtors signing on to this statements in packet. Asking you to establish enforceable protections for homeowners. 

Donna McCollum- Explained property value versus resale amount.If too many people sell- the property value will go down. Also talked about inverters and noise. I can hear the train in Aurora on Possum Ridge. Constant noise level can affect your health.

Chad Kelly- Gutapfel Road- had a cell tower proposed there. Alternative locations were proposed. BZA- One board member had said somethings it was approved- that seemed to show they were not listening to locals concerns. Many recommendations have gotten little comments or discussion. Transparency requires more than allowing the people to speak- but also having the board listen to those considerations. Give meaningful consideration to those concerns. 

Emily Hartman- Since February she has been speaking- tonight - different. Private property rights. Shortly into adulthood, I learned that property rights are not absolute. Private property rights is a real hard sell. ( I missed a section of this  presentation due to the lobby noise) at the end she quoted Wendell Berry -In The Unsettling of America, Berry writes about how generations who intended to stay and care for their land have been displaced or subverted by "those who were carrying out some version of the search for El Dorado"—tearing apart local cultures and communities in the name of extraction and profit.     

Jeff Brand- There are tiers of solar panels and we should ask for a Tier 1 solar panels. This was developed by Bloomberg New energy. Tier 1- is one of the most successful- enough that banks would lend the money with no strings attached. Tier 1 panels for 5 years or more- listed on Stock exchange and marketing their own brand to customers. Could find no measure of QUALITY. Could find no Tier 2 suppliers.Ask that you not vote tonight and take into consideration the proposals by residents tonight. 

Lisa Brand-  want it in an industrial zone. Refers bak to zoning coed- 200 and 1500 caps helps protect property owners. Not intended to precent development- but to protect property owners. Consider the proposal tonight. 

Ken Scherzinger- Reasonable to cap the amount of land per solar 200 acres and total cap for the county. If you pass this the gate opens and you might end up with other by you. You can get knowledge from counties who have BEEN THERE -DONE THAT- I think we have all learned something about solar tonight. The tier 1 concept for example…. If you think it is a tough job now- wait till you try to fix it later. Other counties in Indiana have examples to teach us. 

Peggy Zoller- passed out info- Was discouraged. Cited numbers of petitions, signs, it seems like those looking for restrictions are the majority. Researched- Purdueextension.edu article-  She learned about private nuisance and public nuisances. This would be a public nuisance. How does a court decide this? Weigh many factors. Adjacent and nearby the solar project. Does not know why it goes to PC first- and not courts? Kraus explained- there is no formal application for this solar project yet. If it does- It will go to BZA for a conditional use. It does not go to court unless there is an actual approval. Peggy Zoller- I over here because I love this area. 

*****Nicole said audio is working- not video tonight. Still trying. 

Lillian Putziz sp?- The Principle of was asked to be here by a few different landowners here. This was about Property Rights. None of her people regret leasing their land for solar. They can be a good neighbor. Do not make lawful development impossible. Adopt an ordinance that is reasonable for property rights.

Chris Berry- Linnea- Sr development- Thought about the first meeting at South Dearborn. Our national prosperity is linked to energy. Indiana has demand for energy. We are still in the queue for their project on grid. We support the moratorium. The original version of this ordinance only needs minor revisions. Strike the right balance with landowners rights. They will preserve their farms for future generations. Bringing real benefits for landowners. Looks forward to bringing solar here. Linnea has not done property value guarantees. They have done Good Neighbor Agreements. He thinks they can limit the impact of view and noise. Sabrina Gregory asked why they had picked Dearborn County.- 

Jenny Bulach- wanted to talk about energy. Backlogs are very long to get power. Independent Power producer comes -we don’t need to pay for that. How do we invest in the infrastructure for energy? We have the opportunity to right something that is doable. There is a 3.5 KV line coming in from Batesvlle. County cannot stop it when the public utility does it. DOE is declaring an energy emergency. We will be seeing prices. When the state and federal gov’t says we need this- local rule won’t stop it. What is best for the county- have volunteers or get it taken.

Michelle Dudley-  Property value guarantees. A homeowner should not have to absorb the loss of value from an use they did not want. Visual impacts, nuisances, property value decrease. Should be in 5 mile radius of this. The developer should either buy the property at base appraisal or make up the difference in value. Wants this ti be part of the ordinance. Table till you evaluate the alternate ordinance proposed tonight. 

Jillian Collins- 2 items - Attended St Leon Oct 5 draft ordinance. They have 400acres continuance caps. No citizens really there- They have only been moratorium since April. Per Daily- Dearborn County cannot do a ban. Collins was surprised that Marshall County has a solar ban. They have seen what happened in counties around them. You have to have a PC that is solidly representing their citizens. They have won a judicial review on their ban.  Will give her name to them.

Woman- did not catch name- She will be getting her family farm- She went on about the decommissioning requirements. And how to be sure they restore soil, drainage, etc. The taxpayers or farmers should not have to do this. The comp plan says we preserve rural character. This leaves land in teh condition that allows the next generation to use the land. If these developments are temporary- the be sure the land is put back to original condition. 

Ed Yelton-Talked about Fire Depts and working close with the solar developers to be sure the training and equipment are up to the task of taking care of the safety issues. It will need other depts to back them up. There are issues with water supply for that too. Wants earth berms to take care of protecting adjoining properties. Thatcher said Milan and Sunman would be involved too. 

Brandon Lang- gave names he was representing. None of this is about preserving farmland. These people built house on what was farmland. Solar is the most regulated land use in the county. They want a discriminating ordinance. Setbacks are greater than any other land use in the county. Size is dependent terrain etc. Is it fair to change the rules in the middle of the project?! Solar farms are often built in flood plains following their rules. An open ended requirement is not….There are several gaps in noise requirements. Givaudon versus solar panels (unfair differences) Solar can be a lifeline. My family is in no position to sell. Ms Spooner was here in Sunman before. What should a farmer do with their land if they can no longer farm? She said then- Sell to another farmer. The original Article 19 was fine with a few changes. I am proud that this board is trying to strike a balance between property rights and individual liberty. 

Mr Sloan-  Our porch is 200 ft from that area. This ordinance does not have long enough setbacks. Equal consideration must be given to the neighbors of this solar project. An industrial scale development in an ag community -the elevation of our property overlooks all this site. The setbacks and screening will do little to help this. Support setback and vegetative screening.

Bobby Rauen-  With all due respect Ms Bulach is not part of this decision. He read the 5 considerations that the code requires.US Supreme Court and Indiana defeated the house bill that sought to take the 

None of teh companies are respecting human rights. As a whole teh industry has a long way to go for respect for workers in their supply chains.  Land grabs  and unjust an unfair relocation of residents. 

Jessica Schneider- went over the rules and responsibilities of the Planning code. Our proposed ordinance had meaningful setbacks. This gets physical protection. We are still discussing proposals that do not protect the landowners around this. Table to  research and consider the proposals. 

Chris Mueller- Called attention to the conditional use portion of t Ordinance 19 and the current proposed solar one. Asked about amending the Ag and Ag Homestead ordinances to remove Commercial SES from their allowed Conditional Uses sections. Noted that Industrial and B-2 is still open to conditional and zoned solar use. Ag is as well- but it would require a rezone. Without it- you are essentially putting an Industrial Use in Ag  lands without a zone change. Historically, for the 30 plus years I had attended Planning Commission and BZA meetings, Conditional Uses were considered options for starting small home occupational businesses and temporary locations for trailers while taking care of aging parents etc. Using it to escape rezone for along term lease of land for solar was not the intended purpose for this option, in my opinion. 

Josh Holland- less than 6 months to go- info has been presented- work it out with Citizens Advisory Committee. There is a time crunch. We are beating a dead horse to put lipstick on a pig. Or do what she said- take it out of Ag H and Ag plus Ordinance 19. Tweaking the Ag and Ag H ordinances can be done. Thank you for taking my recommendation under consideration. 

Baudendistel- Moratorium is only a year for energy systems- but NOT for data centers. 

Dave Sams- tired of coming down here and being frustrated. This comes down to a couple simple things. You cannot make more land. It must be safe and smart. Large scale solar is not either of those. All property owners- not just the ones receiving lease payments for the last 3 years. Some counties are making ordinances that respect all property owners. Mr Lang leaves out a lot of the story. Apologizes if I have offended anyone.

Bob Montague- We are talking about Givaudon- going in an INDUSTRIAL zone. Solar- the original Article 19. You decided it wasn’t enough. Beiersdorfer explained how the state forced us o get one in place. Stop talking about the original 19- it doesn’t cover all this. 

Joe Volk- I own farmland in Dearborn and Ripley County. The I Diana and Michigan power lines are up there. The solar farms can go anywhere as we are all connected. Put it out where there are less people. Desert is ok. If they did not dangle money like tax money. Who will hold them accountable, when they do not pay. Texas is the only state that is not in the grid. 

Joe ?-  The elephant in the room is WHO is getting the energy. The federal government needs it for data centers. It will not bring our costs down. Lets not be stupid about this. This isn’t for electricity for us. I was part of building 3 of these. Ohio is getting slammed with this. Data centers are not good for us. These might be feeding those.

Shawna Drakę- When I heard we were not going to ban solar. Who made that decision. 

Baudendistel- said he will defend whatever ordinance we create.

Shawna Drakę- Why are we doing this for Linnea? They do not even have a permit for this. Why are we curving this for one company. We have missed so many activities and family fighting for this. We feel like no one os fighting for us. I am 15 miles from this- but I am fighting so it is not in my back yard.

CLOSE PUBLIC DISCUSSION 9 PM.

Lehman- If we get thru all 3 of your ordinances and the alternate proposed by the citizens lawyer- what would you see us doing at the next PC meeting on October 26th. 

Daily wants to know the big items they see:

Lehman- Setbacks. Plus the view for the neighbors. Thinks he sees a cap possibly. Trying to balance this with complicated buffering- 2 miles from the school. He indicated that he really wants conditional use so he can put restrictions on it.  

Daily- Option C is the one they have been working on.

Option A and B has blue changes from previous meetings. 

Board discussed several ways they could get their thoughts to Daily before the next meeting regarding setbacks and other main issues that were sticking points. Daily asked them to send her their numbers on setbacks and she would compile them. They were going to hit reply all to her email so that everyone on the board mail could see the responses. THis was after Baudendistel told them they could not be sharing board emails about these items as it would violate open door laws. [NOTE: Doesn’t sharing their numbers without sending them to each other but in a group email also violate that?It is being done out of the public eye.] 

Meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM

Security officers came in and asked all to leave promptly as they were closing the building. Citizens met outside in the parking lot to continue conversations.

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township