A Christian Fiscal Court ordinance concerning solar panel projects in the county continues to be under consideration in Christian Civil Court, following a hearing Wednesday afternoon.
While the ordinance that was passed by the Fiscal Court in November of 2022 restricts any solar company looking to construct a solar farm in the area, the case in court deals specifically with the Dogwood Corners solar project by Oriden in northern Christian County in the Dogwood community.
Judge John Atkins has been considering a motion from Oriden that was restated in court Wednesday by their lawyer Jason Strobo—that the Fiscal Court failed to follow proper procedures when passing the ordinance that called for minimum set-back requirements, decommissioning regulations and more.
Oriden contends that by failing to host a public hearing by a planning and zoning commission, the ordinance is therefore invalid. The County has argued that this was not a zoning ordinance, and so did not require going through a zoning adjustment board for consideration.
Judge Atkins did not make a ruling on the matter just yet, instead asking for more information on some matters that he found unclear, including documents concerning a joint planning commission in the county.
Both parties, including County Attorney Lincoln Foster and attorney Mac Johns who are representing Fiscal Court, were given time to file additional arguments and find answers to the questions the judge had, with the matter set to come back before the court on October 25.
Earlier in 2022, Christian Fiscal Court had approved a resolution that paved the way for Oriden to construct a solar array farm in the Dogwood area, but that resolution was rescinded in September 2022 after public contention about the parameters of the project. Then the ordinance in question was passed in November of that year.