Montgomery County Commission hears concerns on solar site development

A landowner asked the Montgomery County Commission to place a moratorium on industrial solar sites in the county, but the commission told her there was nothing they could do.

Kandra Parkman told the commission at their June 4 meeting that a 2,300-acre solar site is set to be developed on farmland next to her property in District 5.

She stated that she was there at the meeting to ask if it would be possible to impose a moratorium on solar sites in the county, pointing out that that the county is already home to Black Bear Solar Farm. She then claimed that the upcoming site near her property would be three times as large as Black Bear.

She urged the commission to find a way to place restrictions on their development until regulations could be placed to “protect” the property values as well as the “health and safety” of neighboring properties or require companies to be self-contained with their construction.

“As a landowner, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t want an overreach of government on the sale of private land,” Parkman said. “But there also has to be some regulation and laws in place to prevent our entire rural landscape and communities in this county to be overtaken by large-scale solar sites.”

Parkman told the commission the project was brought to her and her family’s attention when a drone was seen surveying the land to the north of their property. They later learned that their neighbors’ properties on their west property line were being surveyed for a 1,500-acre solar site. Since then, they were told by the development’s landowner that he would be adding 800 acres contiguous with her north property line.

She reached out to Commissioner Doug Singleton, who represents District 5, but she was told that there was nothing they could do to stop the project.

Despite Singleton’s sympathies, he said that a proposal allowing the County Commission to limit zoning was struck down in 2016, though he said that he has spoken with County Attorney Michael Armistead about possible alternatives.

More from this section

‘Psychic’ lions predict England will defeat Croatia in World Cup

Study discovers longevity may be down to one particular gene

Stuck or settled? Half of homeowners say economy is keeping them put

“But the way that it is written right now, in the unincorporated (areas) there is no zoning,” he said. “You can do anything you want on your property.”

Commissioner Daniel Harris said that the commission can still try the proposal first made in 2016 and rejected again later. He suggested getting input from communities to help the commission draft a policy that would give the commission limited zoning authority.

The policy could then be sent to the Alabama Legislature to be possibly approved and then voted on by the commission.  

In other business the commission:

• Authorized the transfer of up to $2,500,000 from the Rental Tax Proceeds to the Montgomery County Community Cooperative District in support of Montgomery Whitewater.
• Selected Alabama Power as the vendor for the $1.5 million camera surveillance system
• Selected FUSUS as the sole source provider for the camera surveillance network
• Obligated $150,000 to the Family Guidance Center; $300,000 to Habitat for Humanity; $150,000 to the Central Alabama Aging Consortium; and $200,000 to the Maggie Street Community Development Corporation as beneficiaries,
• Increased the salary for each member of the commission in the amount of $12,000 annually
• Approved a lease for the Alabama Department of Public Health to use a building on 3060 Mobile Highway
• Approved $680,000 in opioid settlement money to purchase a case management system for District Attorney Daryl Bailey
• Rescheduled the meeting dates in July to the first and third Tuesdays

The Montgomery County Commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 101 South Lawrence Street. Information sessions begin at 10 a.m. followed by the formal meeting.

Livestreamed meetings can be seen on the commission’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Agendas with additional details can be found at the commission’s documents section of the website.