SUNBURY — Kingston Township’s Zoning Commission discussed solar farms at its third quarter meeting last year.
“A copy of the OTA (Ohio Township Association) Solar Model Zoning Resolution Language was distributed to all members and discussed,” said the minutes of Aug. 3. “Chairman (Tom) Filbert stated that he had completed some research and that a 50 MW solar farm would take 300-500 acres of land which would be expensive with the cost of land in Delaware County. Chairman Filbert updated Members regarding regulatory authority for solar projects under 50 megawatts contained in State House Bill 501.
“Specifically, the change to law allows the board of trustees to regulate the location, erection, construction, reconstruction, change, alteration, maintenance, removal, use or enlargement of any small solar facility, whether publicly or privately owned, or the use of land for the purpose,” the minutes said. “Members continued to discuss the authority of the County Commissioners to block out sections of the County prohibiting solar and wind farms. This matter has been discussed with the Kingston Township Trustees several times, and there is no current plan to pursue restricting sections of Kingston Township.”
As a follow up, the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission (DCRPC) would be asked to see what other townships are doing about “small solar facilities.”
The resignation of Dave Stites was accepted at the Aug. 1 Kingston Township Board of Trustees meeting. He served as zoning secretary for 16 years and was chairman of the DCRPC for the last eight years. He also put together the township’s quarterly newsletter. “The trustees are very grateful for Dave’s many years of dedicated service and appreciate all his hard work.” The Delaware County Commissioners also recognized his service. New Zoning Inspector Dave Willyerd will be the township representative for the DCRPC.
A special zoning meeting was held on Oct. 5 “for an informal interaction with Skip Weiler regarding Northstar,” specifically “to discuss changes to the plan for the remaining portion of Northstar.” After more than two hours, no action was taken.
Weiler returned for the fourth quarter Zoning Commission meeting on Nov. 1. “Discussion centered around minimum lot widths and quantity of lots for each width,” minutes said.
Among the items discussed, it was verified that 82 acres will be deeded to the township by the developer. Again, no action was taken.
Filbert was reappointed chairman after saying he would resign at the end of August 2024. Dick Strohm was appointed vice chairman.
Lastly, the KZC approved limiting public comments to three minutes.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
