Sedgwick County commissioners want input from a professional consulting firm before they decide on a set of regulations governing commercial solar power projects in the county.
The decision was made after a lengthy discussion at Wednesday’s commission meeting, with concerns voiced by county residents regarding land use, property rights, and whether the proposed regulations would hinder the growth of solar.
Commissioner David Dennis said he’s concerned that too much of the focus has been on topics from town hall discussions and not on research that has been done nationally on solar power. He said many topics and proposed regulations are not clear cut, and the goal should not be to simply implement regulations, but to implement the right regulations that will be appropriate for Sedgwick County, its communities, industries and citizens. He proposed delaying action for one month to allow staff to look for a professional consultant with expertise in solar power to review the regulations and provide insight and recommendations.
Other commissioners agreed that more time is needed on the issue, and the commission voted unanimously to delay the discussion until their April 3rd meeting. They also voted to extend a moratorium on commercial solar projects that was enacted last September. The moratorium will be extended to September 13th, but it could be ended sooner if regulations are adopted before that time.
[ photo credit: Reuters – Kimberly White ]
