9 September 2026 Dearborn County Plan Commission Special Meeting on the Solar Ordinance Notes
This meeting is 4 hours and 10 minutes. It can be viewed online on YouTube.
Present: Dennis Kraus, Jr., Chairman, Mark Lehman, Russell Beiersdorfer, Sabrina Gregory, Joe Vogel, Jake Hoog, Dan Lansing, Jim Thatcher, and Eric Lang
ABSENT: Dan Lansing and Jake Hoog
Also Present: Nicole Daily, Planning and Zoning Director, and Andy Baudendistel, Attorney. Commissioner, Duane Bischoff wand Commissioner Elect, Jeff Cotton was also present.
Baudendistel read the Title VI statement as legally required.
ADMINISTRATIVE:
Proposed Solar Ordinance Article 19.
Kraus proposed going through a couple sections at a time before asking for comments. 1906 was where they left off last meeting. Starting at section 1910.
Nicole Daily said they have the latest of the draft ordinance. Excel sheet goes section by section with comments received. Changes are highlighted or crossed out. This would be comments form 8/26-9/8. Last packet his from the MS4 coordinator and Soil and Water was there as well. This was to insure consistencies with those ordinances as well.
Received to date- the comments on 1910- Permitting requirements and standards for small scale solar projects. On individual houses or for agricultural homes and operations. Commissioners Citizens Advisory Committee comments was to change the word “reasonable” in that section. Smaller scale was given to the Tech review committee on the locations of the panels. They corrected spelling error of “except.”
Use a cap size instead of percentages for the smaller areas of use. Up for discussion on the 2 acres cap. Screening - was put in there for solar-should it be taken out as it is not usually required for other personal uses. Glare needs more description. Maintenance enforcement would be thru the P&Z dept same as other enforcements in the county code.
Abandonment- could go under Unsafe Building Ordinance. Suggested that as there are more teeth to that ordinance than the zoning ordinance- per Daily.
Discussion about this went on at length with Thatcher and comparing it to asbestos removal rules. Kraus- need to call on someone who is knowledgeable about the material's safety when they are tearing it down.
MS4 and Highway Dept brought up those same questions. This was all they comments received on the small scale so far.
Board agreed that the Unsafe Building Ordinance has the most teeth so it should go there.Thatcher discussed that further.
Sabrina Gregory asked about the 2 acres cap- and it was suggested to keep the percentages also. Otherwise the could cover he entire 2 acres in panels. If they exceeded that -they could ask for a variance per Daily. They would have to go to BZA for that. The roof solar does not count against the solar on the ground for the cap.
1915- Permitting standards for large scale.Example -if Walmart wanted to do solar just for their property. Allowing Tech Review or BZA???Things that fall in B or I zone or conditional use. If they have setbacks and it is in the front yard. Like canopy solar on the parking lot.
1915- alternate allowing Tech Review for larger scale or do you want it to go to BZA? In the front yard allowed if it is canopy solar. But what is the front yard is grass- does that go to tech review or BZA?
Kraus thought the Tech Review Committee needs criteria for making the decisions. They will have to discuss that criteria later. They already can do some landscaping and driveway spacing decisions with a percentage criteria.
Lehman asked about criteria for detention areas too- They still have to meet the outflow etc.
Lang talked about trying to drive canopy solar instead of over the ground solar for industrial uses.
Kraus said having a cap on the rear yard setback. Trying to put higher restriction and caps on the front yard scenario. - maybe not needed for rear yards as its in an area that is not generally seen.
05 wording change.
06 screening- especially when it runs up to Ag and Residential. Article 22- refers back to the screening for Commercial and Industrial. They can reduce size of setback with berms with different buffers and screwing.
12- why battery storage for solar? This needs to be in place until a BESS ordinance gets in place. Otherwise the solar has no rule son that. Does not want a loop hole in timeframes for these ordinances. This is Battery only for their use- not storage to sell it off.
13 Abandonment - The time frame may be needed to be spelled out. This is under Commercial/Industrial Business.
Unsafe Building maintenance would run under Unsafe Building Ordinance and they would say how it was unsafe.
Duane Bischoff asked about solar disconnect in abandonment case. Should we require a disconnect? If there is vacant property or vacant structure. They should have a disconnect in this case. Daily agreed. She will check on what to happen if it’s vacant, but need electricity to sell the property?
MS4 drainage and they will refer back to MS4 technical standards.
1920- Notification for project should be within a mile, NOT 500 ft. But 500 ft is the current most restrictive notification. If it abuts a county line - you have to go 2 properties over within the next count to match the state regulation.
Lang asked about how to have companies in violation be restricted from getting another permit. She said they can do his for the current property. But if they are on a new property they cannot. Apparently- Baudendistel said some of these companies just change names with a new LLC to get around this.
7 PM
OPENED PUBLIC DISCUSSION 1910, 1915, and 1920
Michelle Dudley- passed out references and materials first-she said- Important to look at other Indiana Counties who have done many of these ordinances. Boone County IN is considered the gold standardly some. Project sizes and acreage caps are important. Reasonable standards and restrictions. They each have acreage cap and Mega Watt cap. Solar and data centers go hand in hand 3500 acre project by Linnea in another area. 600 Mega Watts in the works now- and these solar farms provide power for data centers. These are Giga Watt operations and require 3 solar areas. Property assessed before solar was talked about and now $75,000-100,00 less in worth- before the solar is built.protect us.
Thatcher asked who made Boone County the gold standard? She said it was an opinion of some people.
Shawna Drakę- Walmart is a great example. They sued Tesla for the fires on their roofs. Insurance companies wouldn’t insure for the rooftop solar fires. No one really knew if the roof top solar was done right. The runoff on the solar farms runs into our streams. I think we need a solar expert for Dearborn County to be sure they are done right. The property owner who wants it is protected, We are not protected. We trust you to look out for us.
Jeff Brand- Solar power is always active. Use terms like disconnect or isolate. We spent a long time on a master plan for the county. When we look at 1915- Large scale solar projects are prohibited from Residential Districts in the master plan. We could use that language for other districts. We need to isolate them to areas that are rezoned for this.
Chris Berry- Linnea rep- Wants the definitions clarified- they are open ended and need to be specific. This would have enforcement be equitable.
1920.6 and 1945A- 2 different triggers for these- One has to be when permit is submitted and one when it is approved. He would argue for when it was submitted.Needs clarification there
Lisa Lake ??Weisberg Rd- What if solar is abandoned - not just a building being abandoned. What if just the solar is abandoned? All those unsafe building parameters are in the building code.These also apply to solar panels etc. per Baudendistel
Jessica Schneider- Is there to be a bond in place and how much will it be. For large scale? Who pays for it? What if the business goes under. Unsafe Building process would be paid by the county and a lien would be put on the property. [NOTE: Remember these are rental properties for the solar company.]
Brandon Lang- Tangamen and Asche Rd - expanded years ago. What process to expand substations? Who controls them? They sent plans to the county- no permission from the county. No control over what is going into that?
Kraus- not seen anything come thru - not’s usually done thru IURC.
Emily Hartman- She handed out Purpose and Intent and definitions. We want to have these projects be identified by size ranges. Base it on the Scale and Size of the Use and not the Name of the company. Article 19 examples of ranges that she thought were adequate. Attorney experience in land use law for definitions. Included Madison County that did something like this Got a noise testimony from Indiana. 4.15 acres even small ones can have adverse impacts - she pointed out.
CLOSE PUBLIC DISCUSSION- 7:30 PM
Nicole Daily- Section 1925- no comments as of Friday. Did receive MS4 and Hwy Engineer to add drainage standards. Also to put a time frame for the abandonment of these projects. She is planning to put more details into this section. Think they need a decommissioning outline plan for that if it’s a neighborhood or a community. Sabrina Gregory reminded Daily of an item she needed to fix.
Baudendistel reminded her to add B2 zone to her list of zoning- it was missing.
Page 19 #2 at end- finish the sentence- regarding canopy systems about where they can go on easements. They have to use the standards for the ROW that should be dedicated in that instance. Ground mounted…
Drainage to follow MS4 and use decommissioning.
1930 citizen comments from emails, Hwy and MS4- reducing 1 mile between parcels Max acreage to be 1000 acres. Each parcel has to be in a mile from each other. Page 22-
Page 23- setbacks- Daily did not put setbacks in there for access roads, fencing, etc, Front yard setback is measured from centerline of the road to keep it standard. 600 ft for inverters (That’s 2 football fields Thatcher)- 450 ft is the average front yard setback in Indiana per Thatcher- Googled it. They could do whatever they wanted Agriculturally in that setback?? If they reduced the setback - with buffers??? Berms were discussed- 10 ft tall per Thatcher. Cited one on Greenacres. Long discussion about species and lots of dirt required for berms etc.
Kraus said that the setback needs maintenance- lay idle? 200 ft is too small for production. Think about that. Does anyone have a problem with no setback or less if the adjoiner signs a waiver? Board said no problem with that. Advertised for special meeting on Sept 21st at 6 pm. They will not be voting formally- but they need to get direction on what to put in the ordinance.
They were joking about chains as a means of measurement used in OLD surveys.
Setbacks around a park were needed when solar adjoins a park.
8-8:20 PM Discussion on setback issue went on at length- no votes for now- want board to think about it before Sept 21 special meeting.
No setbacks for adjoining participants of same project?
Fences will be needed if running livestock with the panels. Maybe allow 10 ft- some minimal setbacks anyway in these situations???
Height limits- max height for 10 ft or max 15 ft. If doing Agrivoltaics they can ask for 15 ft. Variance would be needed for 20 ft even if it is canopy- and they will need a structural engineer and paperwork for this.
They want the bottom 3-4 ft from ground for grass growing.
Agrivoltaics management plan- in there as an option.
6 ft high fences for deer to jump over. Wildlife friendly fencing. Gates at leas 20 ft wide for emergency vehicles. No chainlink?
Sabrina Gregory- some counties use opening every so often for wildlife to get thru.
Duane Bischoff- I thought we had it had to be fenced in the ordinance- 25 B. Kraus- has to be fenced or otherwise secured- BUT HOW? State it? Thatcher- fencing near solar panels can be energized so the fence needs to be grounded.
25 C- access from county or state/federal roads have to follow the local or state and federal rules as applicable.
No access if the existing county road is 16 ft or less. (same as subdivision ordinance) There is a standard for site distance for these for commercial enterprise.
Internal access roads and fire truck access and slopes etc. rules were laid out per hwy dept regulations.
Supposedly spruces don’t do well in Indiana per Daily. Landscaping buffer- repeat from before? They could use existing woodlands for buffer. They can use existing landscape and trees- if called out as to species and mature height etc. 30% Want to know that staggering the trees in 2 rows will provide a visual barrier. Norway Spruce- though not native to Indiana- are sturdy alternatives. [NOTE: Norway spruce trees have done well- and in fact were raised and sold by the state nurseries. The deer do not like them. Take a look at the trees that are in cemeteries for many years]
Want to keep at least 30% of the native woodland. Page 27
There is a lighting ordinance they have to follow when they go thru their permitting process.
Lighting will be minimal lighting security type- not like a parking lot at night.
Noise measurement was discussed at length- noted that the engineer who does these measurements and stamps it risks his license if he does not do it correctly. Engineers take their license seriously- as losing it means losing their job. 45-55 dcB- find an average.
9:07 PM- OPEN PUBLIC DISCUSSION FOR THIS SECTION
Sam Mortenson- berm points to consider- vegetation where is the dirt coming from for the berm. The ground gets compacted when you do all this and you can see the psi. How close to road can we put the berm,
Brandon Lang- It is a potential life- line for people. I think of the life boats in the Titanic. Why are we limited? want to remind commissioners and the board what their focus area #1 is economic development. He also sent in an impact analysis that was done. Repeated some of what he said at last Commissioners meeting- See that on previous blog post. If a farmer can clear more land to make money why can’t I? Kraus had to stop Lang as he was over his time limit.
Thatcher - also have to keep county safe-too- we are trying to thread that needle.
Bobby Rauen- Citizens asked for 200 acre property cap- we need to put 1000 acres in perspective. AG census 120 acres is average.= farm in Dearborn county. Very few at 500 and not one is 1000 acres. 200, 300, and 400 4acres are limits in many IN counties.he listed 9 counties- 3 of each that he knows about. Protection of our rural character is in the Comp Plan p125- mitigate impacts. High quality of life- p 150 rural character Minimizing impacts with setbacks etc. Cited various pages in the Comprehensive Plan- see page 150-4. Utility power generation- needs to be addressed in light of the comp plan. It is fundamentally different from the farms.
If 200 is not the right number- what is? Have a public discussion. It simply limits the amount of change that can go on at one point in time.
The citizens gave you a recommendation- why are we not using it. If there is not a compelling reason to put 500 , etc then put the 200 acre cap into the ordinance.
Dave Sams- If you go on existing Solar site- does OSHA require hard hats and earplugs? 400 ft from center of the road. Asked more questions about the adjoining properties affected. Dennis - when you said it ought to be different near a park for setbacks. We live out there- it IS our park. That’s why we chose to live there. No one invited these companies here. They came on their own. Be more concerned about us than about these companies.
Kraus- I am more concerned about you than what it cost developers.
Steve Neal-Lived here for 54 years. When he went to Linnea presentation at Agner Hall for open house on solar. They talked about minimal excavation. Couldn’t tell me what it was. How is that? I work construction for years. Berms- Excavations and pipes and water flow. Berms stop water flows- it’s not flat ground. What about the berms stopping water flowing between properties? That’s all I got. Only thing I’m looking for is 3 more votes… <Laughter> (Neal ran for Council in primary and lost by a couple votes)
Michelle Dudley- Shared this before but I want to read it again- as it does not appear it resonated. She read a letter from Brooks County Georgia woman. It related pure tones, low frequency vibrations, and a consistent hum that the atmosphere emphasizes as the major noise issues. NextEra energy- the parent company of Linnea- was formally cited for violating the noise ordinance. Required real acoustic engineering. No hand held noise testing. Ambient noise testing prior. Take this seriously. Peg Howard was the writer.
Amanda Thompson- Who does Nicole Daily report to? The Plan Commission Board. (Thatcher said he had made a mistake a couple weeks ago and said that she reported to the commissioners.) A lot of people attended workshops and wrote surveys and comments and asked for certain things and wonder why so much of this was left out of the draft ordinance. It’s not in this so far. (Thatcher said that’s why we are meeting to correct some of this.) (Daily said there are a lot of comments on both sides of this and she’s looking at both.) Thompson went on to say- A US Supreme Court order in 1954-for Burnan and Parker can zone for aesthetics. Denny said 200 feet buffer wouldn’t leave a whole lot of room to do anything. (Kraus- you are taking land out of farmland to create a setback. Thompson- But flip that to why take 1000 acres out of production for solar? Kraus reminded them they are over her time. Wants to know why the setbacks requested were not in the ordinance. Linnea says 0-45 dcB is their noise level on website.
Jessica Schneider- Gave actual stats of the numbers of people who sent in requests for certain setbacks length etc. 43 - 1500 ft setback and 44 for prop value guarantees, well buffers etc and only 2 pro solar. These were the email stats she gave.
Topher Anderson- From Brownsburg IN- NOT from Dearborn County. I work with a group thatLand and Liberty that represents landowners across the state- especially on these issues. This ordinance is excessive regulation and if enacted it would make solar the most heavily regulated use in this county. Three areas to back this up. Strike the 10 mile rule between solar fields. Dearborn county is 16 miles wide and 26 miles long. If we put 1000 acre solar farm in the middle of the county- this is like a ban on any others. Why a 10 mile spacing between solar fields? The next person won’t have that opportunity. They are the 1001st acre. These are biggest setbacks in the county. Heavy industry use is highest setbacks. Look at what those are. 50 ft and 100 ft are sufficient for those. He includes landfills and prisons in his list. Berms and screening are the heaviest he’s seen.They will damage drainage etc. Average farm made -$1800 Average solar lease provides 3 times more income than farming. So all these claims lose track of the fact that this land is the land of the people who names are on the deed for that land. We did not fight for freedom to have the gov’t to tell me what I do with my land. Thatcher asked him to sit down after Anderson had told him that the proposed rules seemed to be arbitrary and political.
Emily Hartman- We have a lot here. Start with 1926 zoning is a valid exercise of police power.It talked about nuisances. Like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard - a landmark case. Now we have - Industrialization of property right next to landowners who did not choose to participate in the project. 1500 ft set back- a lot of football fields. Has footnotes to back this up. This is not to prevent solar- but to protect neighbors. Health safety and welfare is important and comprehensive plan is the key here. Thatcher mentioned the averages which is really great. 67 counties do have solar ordinances in Indiana. Several require 1000 ft now from teh property lines. About 10 listed. Board shut Hartman down even though she said she was speaking for a group of people. Who would like to speak?
At this point others who had already spoke were not allowed to finish for Hartman.
Josh Holland raised his hand to help and was allowed to continue to read Hartman’s presentation. He read it quickly. He inserted a couple moments on our difference from the north Indiana ones. A 1500 setback preserves reasonable space from other lawful uses. Impractical to Dearborn County. These projects have multiple projects assembled together. 500 ft setback from waterways. Protects rural character. Ultimately its about balance. Look at all those trees that can be planted in there in 1500 ft!
Chris Berry- Linnea- proud of Americans because of what’s happening in the room - process here. Noise was addressed. He suggested 40 at the house and not 50. He was suggesting 10,000 truckloads of 20 tons each dirt- berms. Visual screens are good to do. What value to are we doing if it comes as a restriction of what a landowner can do with their prosper. There are competing interests in comprehensive plan Tax revenue to balance. Reasonable regulation. Give us the standard- we want to meet it.
Shawna Drakę- Children with asthma-health impact. Conversed with Beiersdorfer about those difficulties. Do you know what the heat that comes off a solar farm compared to a farm. Heat is an issue for people with chronic illnesses. Because of peoples mistakes - And it’s environmental. So the money is not more important than the health issue- my 10 year old granddaughter has asthma. It matters. Anyone who benefits from this - you are here to protect us. Sit back and think about that.
Lisa Lee- Weisberg Rd. - County trying to get 40% tree coverage. We want our trees - they cool and protect from erosion and they are clearing hardwood trees in part of this project. The previous owner was paid by gov’t not to put cattle out there and his mother’s urn is buried here. Fencing 6ft high. Little deer going to get stuck in there. Use Jefferson Proving ground. .
Ed Yelton- Was going to talk about trees too. I like trees- should have 75% trees instead of 30%. Conservation dirt, berms etc. Could use things for fire protection too. Site developed controlled drainage.
Lisa Brigand- 10 miles between solar- this could be coming to other areas of the county. We came to west side of the county to live in country. You want to represent all of Dearborn County. It’s important to care about people put here. You were so picky before- now- Please protect the people.
Chris Mueller- Lawrenceburg Township- and I guess this ordinance affects all of us. I have not heard anything in this new version about what happened to the conditional use in Ag for solar farms from the original version. Are you or are you not doing it. (Daily - section 1920 It is still there as conditional use for Ag.) When you get to something this big it is clearly your talking Industrial and attempting to control it in an area it really doesn’t belong. If they really wanted to do it they would ask for a zone change. And then you’d say Ok maybe we’ll be making part of Manchester Industrial. But you are NOT saying that. Does that use belong in a rural area or does it belong somewhere else? I want you to think about that. Conditional use is the root of a lot of the problem. And you are having this issue because they want to lease the land- not own it. If they went for an Industrial zone the owner of the land requests the zone change. (Kraus - It would be a hard sell for Industrial out there because for the most part the utilities are not adequate out there to support Industrial.) And yet just last month you had a request - for Industrial 1- ( It got a favorable recommendation and is going to Commissioners for their vote.) And so we come back around to my point- I want you to think about what you are really allowing out there. Thank you.
Kraus said he’d allow one more person. But no one wanted o speak.
Daily- Having another special meeting Monday Sept 21. Baudendistel and Beiersdorfer will be missing from that meeting. No voting at that meeting. They may poll the board for opinions on sections.
Meeting adjourned at 10:10PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
