History repeated itself at the Columbia County Planning Commission’s latest meeting, Thursday night, when two rezoning requests, one for a proposed solar farm across from Patriot’s Park and another for a luxury marina storage in Appling, got voted down by commissioners.
The Columbia County Planning staff recommended denial of Bijan Solar’s request to rezone nearly 40 acres off Columbia Road from Planned Unit Development (PUD) to Special (S-1) to make way for the development of a solar farm to sell power to Georgia Power. The Planning Commission had voted down a similar request by Bijan and landowner GVS Holdings in June.
The staff report on the most recent rezoning request states that the planned solar facility is not congruent with the aim of the county’s future development map “to encourage residential and civic development in this area.” Should the county elect to approve the request, staff recommended the condition that a minimum 40-foot buffer be installed around the property.
Warren Kritko, developer with Bijan’s parent company CTEC Solar, told planning commissioners that the company would be willing place setbacks back 200 feet, rendering the solar farm less visible from the road, along with a seven- to 10-foot fence surrounding the property, plant extensive shrubbery and trees, and a buffer of 40 feet or more.
Much like when the initial version of the request came before the planning commission over the summer, the item was unpopular with nearby residents who attended Thursday’s meeting.
Marc Abeles expressed concerns about chemical leaks from the solar panels and batteries, and cited a 2023 study from research journal Frontiers in Energy that suggest the photovoltaic systems in solar tech relies on an IT infrastructure, leaving them vulnerable to cyber-attacks that can impact the power grid, damage the equipment or even fires.
Abeles also referenced a University of Rhode Island study he said indicates that homes “in the direct line of sight” of solar farms were more likely to experience a decrease in property value.
Brenda Heidman referred to articles about hail storm damage to solar panels in Nebraska and Texas releasing toxic chemicals, and worried about the prospective Columbia Road solar farm’s impact on the soil and the creek that runs through the property.
Howard Carter contended that no design of the solar facility could prevent runoff going into the creek, and scoffed at an earlier comment by Kritko that the farm could contribute to reductions in power bills.
“If the only benefit that any of the community members is a proposed tax benefit or power reduction, I say that’s it’s not worth the land,” Carter said. “The land is a nice piece of property, and any developer would go in there and develop it and build houses on it, even if it costs a little bit more, if they wanted to.”
Kritko answered that the panels associated with toxic leaks are produced by Chinese companies, as opposed to CTEC’s, which would be manufactured in Adairsville, Ga. He went on to explain that the roughly 50-pound panels made mostly of glass and are, engineered for wind ratings more than 155 mph, and that “the likelihood of something bending or breaking is a lot higher than something flying off.”
Meister & Marban LLC’s request to rezone its property off Ridge Road in Appling from General Commercial (C-2) to Recreational Residential (R-4) to S-1 for its RV and boat storage faired similarly Thursday.
Planning director Will Butler told commissioners that the most significant change in the updated plans for the storage facility was the proposed installation of entrance-only access to the property from Ridge Road, and an exit-only access onto Washington Road. Butler noted that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) would have to review the exit design, as GDOT controls Washington Road.
This version of the request seeks to rezone 7.86 acres of the property, leaving 2.76 acres—some two and three quarters of the property—zoned R-4, to function as a large natural buffer between the site and neighboring properties.
Residents from nearby who attended the meeting expressed appreciation for the changes, but were still not convinced to support the rezoning request.
“Traffic is not the issue. Safety is the issue,” said homeowner John Bryan. Julie Harrison, who spoke against the original version of the request, felt likewise, noting the narrowness of Ridge Road.
“If you were to have an in on Ridge Road, and there was a wreck, we couldn’t get out,” said Harrison. “We would definitely be blocked in and out.”
Staff recommended disapproval but recommended a condition that there be full access to Ridge Road.
The Planning Commissioners unanimously vetoed Bijan Solar’s request on Columbia Road, while all save Commissioner Ryan Cato voted to disapprove Meister & Marban’s rezoning request in Appling.
Both Meister & Marban and Bijan Solar withdrew their previous applications before review by the Board of Commissioners. The BOC are scheduled to consider the updated requests on applicants withdrew their requests before they were scheduled to go before the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 16.
