In July, Lexington's Planning Commission advised against allowing large-scale solar projects on agriculturally-zoned land. But Council has the final say, and it will discuss the issue during its Tuesday Work Session.
During its August 18th Work Session, Council voted 8-7 to advance draft changes to Lexington's rules for solar energy systems that would create a pathway for large-scale solar (over 5 acres) in agricultural zones.
The question of whether to allow solar projects on Lexington's agricultural land has been a hot topic in recent years, both among Councilmembers and Lexington residents. This is the second time the issue has reached the Council, which just last year voted against allowing large-scale solar farms in rural Fayette County.
Lexington is seeing more solar development, and supporters of these new requirements for large projects say they help carve out a space for them within local zoning rules while also building in safeguards for farmland and soil quality. Supporters also say rooftop solar alone isn't enough to meet Lexington's stated goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
What changes did Council advance on Tuesday?
Earlier this year, a Council work group proposed stricter requirements for the projects, which would be allowed as a conditional use within Agricultural-Rural (A-R) and Agricultural-Urban (A-U) zones. Conditional use permits are considered by Lexington's Board of Adjustment.
The proposed requirements for large-scale solar in agricultural zones include:
Maintaining agricultural production on the site, subject to annual review.
The changes also introduce optional Community Benefits Plans for low-income energy bill relief, along with stricter clean-up requirements when solar energy systems are decommissioned. Ground-mounted solar energy systems would also be allowed within any zone if they are entirely within "brownfields," such as contaminated land, landfills and mine sites.
As part of Council's review process, the body asked Lexington's Planning Commission to consider the proposed changes.
Ultimately, at a July 9th meeting, the Planning Commission sided with a recommendation from the city's Planning staff advising that "all references to allowing ground mounted solar energy systems within the agricultural zones" be removed. The Planning Commission's recommendation was returned to Council for review, which has final say over zoning ordinance text amendments as Lexington's legislative body.
During Council's August 18th Work Session, 5th District Councilmember Liz Sheehan successfully moved to restore language allowing for intermediate-scale and large-scale solar within Agricultural-Rural (A-R) and Agricultural-Urban (A-U) zones, along with their associated requirements. The motion passed 8-7.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu and Councilmembers Tyler Morton, Shayla Lynch, Emma Curtis, Liz Sheehan, Joseph Hale, Amy Beasley, and Dave Sevigny voted in favor of the motion.
At-Large Councilmembers James Brown and Chuck Ellinger II joined Councilmembers Tom Eblen, Lisa Higgins-Hord, Whitney Elliott Baxter, Jennifer Reynolds and Hil Boone in voting against the motion.
Lexington's current solar zoning ordinance requires ground-mounted projects within agricultural zones to have 85% vegetative ground cover, and includes a requirement that no more than 1% of the land in Fayette County be used for large-scale ground-mounted solar energy systems in agricultural zones.
That equates to about 1,800 acres of land. During the meeting, Council debated – but ultimately rejected – a proposal to calculate that 1% cap using Lexington's Rural Service Area, rather than the entire county.
Council preserved the existing cap while moving the draft regulations forward.
What's next?
The draft changes are set to go before Council for a first reading at its August 27th meeting.
A second reading and final vote on the zoning ordinance text amendment will come at Council's September 10th meeting.
Aaron covers the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council as a City Hall Reporter for CivicLex. His background is in Service Journalism, and he’s passionate about helping Lexington residents stay informed about happenings in local government.
