South Union supervisors update solar ordinance
During a public hearing Monday, South Union supervisors voted to update the township’s solar farm ordinance to restrict where they can be placed.
“It was brought to our attention that a lot of people are signing leases on their property for solar farms, so we wanted to be proactive and make sure that we protected our residents by only allowing the solar farms to be put in M1 zoning district,” said Supervisor Jason Scott.
M1 zoning districts allow for a combination of low-intensity commercial use such as manufacturing, processing and warehousing and residential use. Scott said companies that want to put solar farms in M1-zoned districts will have to get a special exception from the township’s zoning hearing board.
The existing ordinance only regulated the placement of solar farms in residential areas when it was adopted in 2021.
Solar farms are a contentious issue throughout the county. Those opposed have voiced concerns about declining property values, safety and the environmental impact these farms have as developers buy rural land for solar projects.
Last October, the Fayette County Zoning Board denied a request for a special exception from South Carolina-based Susquehanna Solar to build a solar farm in a residentially-zoned area near Route 119 in Georges Township. The hearings brought out a number of people who lived near the proposed site, necessitating the hearing be split into three sessions.
On Jan. 15, the zoning hearing board will hold a public hearing for a proposed solar farm in Nicholson Township.
In other business, supervisors rezoned the former church Faith Assembly of God on 690 Morgantown Road from residential to general business. Scott said the owners of the property plan to use it for a banquet facility for weddings, funerals and community events.
Supervisors also conducted their reorganization meeting, electing Scott chairman of the three-person board, and retained James T. Davis as the township’s solicitor and K2 Engineering as the primary engineer.