Linn County is considering a solar moratorium.
On Monday, the Linn County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on an ordinance that, if passed, would place a moratorium on accepting rezoning applications for the Renewable Energy Overlay District (utility-scale solar applications) for up to 12 months.
A moratorium period will allow staff to closely examine and analyze Linn County’s renewable energy standards taking lessons learned from the two recent utility-scale solar rezoning applications for projects near Coggon and Palo.
If the moratorium passes, Linn County’s Planning & Development Department will create Renewable Energy Review Committees to help look at specific areas of the renewable energy code – including, but not limited to, setbacks, vegetation, screening, agrivoltaics, and battery energy storage systems. The committees will begin meeting in late October or early November to help evaluate code updates and have input on the updated code.
The first reading of the proposed ordinance was held Monday. The second reading is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 am. And the third and final reading is scheduled for next Wednesday, October 12th at 11 am. All meetings will take place at the Jean Oxley Linn County Public Service Center in Cedar Rapids.
image courtesy of Linn County
