Tama County Zoning Commissioner Wade Mitchell (right) and Chairman Doug Dvorak (left) silently read from another county’s utility scale solar ordinance during the Wednesday, June 11 meeting. To Mitchell’s left, an empty chair is visible where former Commissioner Craig Sash usually sat. Sash was removed from his position on the five-member board two days prior by the Board of Supervisors. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TOLEDO – It was business as usual on Wednesday, June 11, during the most recent meeting of the Tama County Zoning Commission save for two notable changes – Laura Wilson was now seated in the Zoning Administrator’s chair, having taken over from former administrator Bob Vokoun who resigned in April, and Commissioner Craig Sash’s chair was empty following his removal by the Board of Supervisors just two days prior.

Sash was removed by a vote of 5-0 for “engaging in unprofessional communication with the public, thereby compromising the integrity and function of the Zoning Board.” Prior to the vote, none of the supervisors cited any evidence to support their claims for removal.

While Sash’s chair, located directly left of Wade Mitchell, stood empty – along with Carol Meyer’s seat as she attended virtually – his absence was never addressed by the remaining four commissioners nor by Wilson. Without Sash, the roughly 90-minute meeting’s proceedings – centering squarely around the commission’s continuing work to draft Tama County’s utility scale solar ordinance – featured discussion predominantly against allowing commercial solar development.

Wilson opened the meeting with brief remarks, reminding the commissioners they would need to draft a community solar ordinance, too, once finished with the commercial ordinance, at the request of the Board of Supervisors.

During the meeting, commissioners discussed and voted on four different agenda items including: 1) adding protections against eminent domain; 2) adding restrictions on the total acreage of utility scale solar allowed within the county; 3) adding ‘notice of intent’ requirements for projects before approaching landowners; and 4) adding a separate application fee for developers in addition to permitting fees.

Tama County Zoning Administrator Laura Wilson, left, pictured during the June 11 Zoning Commission meeting. This was Wilson’s first meeting as administrator since being appointed May 12 in the wake of Bob Vokoun’s resignation. Also visible, assistant auditor Michelle Schroeder. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Agenda items addressing ordinance definitions and groundwater concerns were tabled to the next meeting.

In a vote of 4-0, the commissioners approved outlawing the use of eminent domain as it pertains to the issuance of a permit to construct or operate a commercial solar project in the county.

In terms of adding restrictions on the total acreage allowed, commissioners unanimously voted to limit the amount of acres of utility scale solar to 500 acres within Tama County. Prior to the vote, they agreed that 10 acres of land was generally required to create one megawatt (MW) of solar power. Combined with the existing 25 MW limit per project, the 500-acre figure was settled on.

While discussing adding “notice of intent” language to the ordinance, Mitchell made the comment, “There’s people out there getting old people to sign up,” in seeming reference to past work by land agents operating as contractors for wind and solar development companies.

Ultimately, the commissioners voted 4-0 to add language to the ordinance indicating that if notice of intent and the project’s location are not both filed with the Zoning Administrator and the Board of Supervisors prior to approaching landowners (both for leases or good neighbor agreements), any project permits applied for would be rejected/voided.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

After Wilson reviewed the current permitting fees and following a lengthy discussion, commissioners voted to add a separate, nonrefundable $2,500 application fee for any commercial solar project.

Next steps, public comments

After setting the next Zoning Commission meeting for Wednesday, June 25, at 6 p.m. in Toledo at the Administration Building, commissioners allowed several members of the audience to speak and ask questions.

In response to an inquiry by Karen Murty about TED Renewables’ Draft Horse Solar project in development on the eastern outskirts of Traer since early 2023, Dvorak responded, “I think our CSR [restriction] has pretty well eliminated that.”

Peterson added that once the Land Use Plan was adopted over the winter, a representative from TED Renewables called him to indicate Draft Horse Solar was “pretty much dead.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The project would have constructed a commercial solar array across some 960 acres in Perry and Clark townships owned by Terry Kucera.

There was also discussion surrounding recent failed legislation introduced by state Sen. Mike Kilmesh (R-Spillville) that, if enacted, would have governed the siting of commercial wind and solar energy projects statewide, overriding local ordinances.

“What we were also told by TED Renewables is they’re stepping back for awhile until the State comes in and overrides the county ordinances and gives these companies the green light to overwrite all county rights, all county ordinances and put those suckers up,” citizen Lynn Cizek told the commissioners before later adding, “This isn’t going away, people. It’s just building steam, what’s happening here. We need to be very aware.”

Cizek is a Tama County resident who lives with her husband Jeff Cizek in Clark Township adjacent to the proposed Draft Horse Solar project.

Sash’s previous comments, public hearing

During the Zoning Commission’s previous meeting held on April 16, the topic of land agents approaching folks in the county about commercial wind and/or solar projects was discussed – a practice Dvorak referred to at the time as “shady” to which Mitchell added, “Especially with older people.”

For his part, then-Commissioner Sash said of the practice, “I don’t think you can prevent companies from going out, talking to landowners.”

In terms of community solar – an issue which the commissioners have yet to take up but that currently sits under a countywide moratorium enacted by the Board of Supervisors – Sash said, “Your Land Use Plan will kill it, for starters. You’re not getting past that. You’re dead off the start, before you get out of the gate.”

According to the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) – a national trade association representing community solar developers, businesses, and nonprofits – community solar involves a three-step process: 1) A community solar project is created and begins generating solar energy; 2) Individuals, local businesses, schools, and others sign up to receive energy from a certain number of panels; and 3) Project subscribers receive bill savings in the form of a credit on their bill based on the amount of energy produced by their community solar panels.

During the Board of Supervisors meeting held this past Monday (June 16), supervisors approved 5-0 a written request from Sash for a public hearing concerning his removal. The hearing will take place on Monday, June 30.