Sedgwick County Commissioners have delayed action another two months on changes to the zoning code regarding large-scale or commercial solar energy projects.
The Commission voted on March 6th to delay action until April to allow staff to find a professional consulting firm with experience on solar power to conduct a review of the county regulations. They also voted to extend a moratorium on commercial solar energy applications to September 13th.
Deputy county counselor Kirk Sponsel told Commissioners on Wednesday that there have been discussions with a consulting firm, and he is optimistic that a firm can be hired and an analysis can be completed within the time frame of the moratorium.
Commissioner David Dennis said in March 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 Wednesday that commissioners need to make sure that the decision made on this issue is the right one for the county “today and for the future.”
Commissioners voted to delay further discussions and action on solar regulations until June.
