In a 2-1 vote, the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners approved a moratorium on commercial and industrial solar projects that are required to go through a conditional use permitting process. The moratorium effectively halts progress on any solar development proposals that would connect to the Bonneville Power Administration’s Knight Road substation, an area which sparked interest with at least two developers.
While no proposal has yet been submitted for a solar project in the Knight Road substation vicinity - a key fact which was clarified during last Tuesday’s meeting - the moratorium puts any proposals outside the EOZ, including the area surrounding the Knight Road substation, on hold. Ordinarily without a moratorium, any projects proposed in the area of the substation would be subject to a conditional use permitting process, which would require developers to obtain a conditional use permit through the board of adjustment, a non-elected board of five appointed members.
Commissioner Dave Sauter was the swing vote on the matter, with Commissioner Dan Christopher raising the motion and Commissioner Jacob Anderson voting against.
The vote marks at least the second effort, led by Christopher, to pass the moratorium through the three-person commission. A first effort back in January failed; Sauter voted against that motion, arguing at the time that the conditional use permitting process was sufficient.
Sauter changed his tune this time around by voting for the moratorium, saying: “I think there is some discussion about scale and scope and not if, but where… and we may want to make some changes to that, or have some side boards, or do something. I don’t know -we haven’t talked about it. We really haven’t,” said Sauter. “If projects come in, which could happen during the moratorium period that are in the EOZ… they move forward.”
“I agree with Commissioner Anderson, that our current EOZ regulations- there are lots of protections in there for setbacks and considerations and adjacent property owners, which the CUP process does not have,” Sauter continued. “I’m supporting this moratorium specific to the CUP (conditional use permit) process, because I think many of those considerations- they’re not spelled out.”
Anderson raised concerns with the “unintended consequences” of enacting a moratorium, arguing that a moratorium would take too much time away from staff.
“I want them to spend the time energy and effort on the things that will get us to where we want to go,” Anderson said. He also argued that the moratorium would push developers to go through the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, which can approve projects without local input. “
“My fear is that a moratorium will actually do the most amount of harm in protecting us, because it would push people- you’re making a big business decision – to go through the other process,” said Anderson. He also said he had hesitation over approving the moratorium without a clear direction for staff to follow, and held that the “conditional use process… is the best way to protect the people of Klickitat County.”
The vote comes after weeks of public pressure – especially within the public commenting portion of the weekly board meetings – to do so. Christopher championed the effort, having argued for its enactment since his 2019 bid for the commissioner seat. Christopher had argued in prior meetings that Klickitat County is vulnerable to seeing energy projects built in the county without sufficient public input.
The current process is also a key point of contention for some residents, including Greg Wagner, a landowner in the county and founding member of activist group Citizens Educated about Solar Energy, and Elaine Harvey, a fish biologist and Yakama Nation member, who have actively called for action by the Board of Commissioners during public commenting portions of the weekly meetings. They have argued that the code as it stands, is outdated, does not effectively address solar energy, and does not allow for sufficient public input. Another resident, Russ Hanson, of Tucker Hill Road in Goldendale, voiced his concern last week that the board of county commissioners would not have a say in a conditional use permitting process, and that the board of adjustment, comprised of unelected members, would have the power to approve or deny such permits.
The approval of the moratorium sets into motion the county’s moratorium process, which calls for a public hearing within 60 days. The hearing is meant for commissioners to gather public comment and use information gathered to come to an informed plan of action. Once a hearing is held, the moratorium is enacted for up to six more months following the hearing.
Commissioners directed staff to begin preparing the findings of fact, which will be presented at the public hearing, not yet scheduled.
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