Kane County Board rejects solar electricity site near Elgin
Residents of two neighborhoods near Elgin were relieved Tuesday when the Kane County Board rejected a request to allow a solar farm near their homes.
The board voted 12-8 against the request to install a community solar electric facility on land near Brookside Drive and Almora Terrace.
The West Highland Acres and Almora Terrace neighborhoods are west of Randall Road and south of Highland Avenue.
Plans called for nearly 11,000 panels to be installed on the northern 26 acres of a 49-acre site.
Currently, soybeans are being grown in the northern area. The southern part of the site is a flood plain.
Forty-four people signed a petition against the proposal. Neighbors were concerned about the loss of the pastoral view from their homes. They also raised concerns about traffic to the site, the fencing, and the types of trees and plants that would have been used to screen the view of the panels from their properties.
The structures would have been no higher than 20 feet, and the panels would face south. They would have been set back at least 150 feet from the nearest houses.
The petitioner — Timothy Meyer of TNT Howard LLC — said the slope of the land would also help keep the panels out of sight of the houses, which are to the north and east of the site.
The land is zoned for farming. Solar facilities are allowed on farmland with a special-use permit.
According to the application, the land in question has low crop yields and soil erosion problems.
Workers would have mowed between the solar panels, or sheep would have been allowed to graze in those areas to keep vegetation under control.
Bruce Garner, a nearby resident, said the application contained no details about what type of solar panels would have been used, the construction methods, or where the array would connect with ComEd’s lines.
“An experienced solar farm (company) usually includes this,” he said.
Resident Jacqueline Thompson said her house has 14 windows looking out at the site. “A lot of us bought into those neighborhoods because of that fact (the view),” she said.
In addition, Thompson said the planned screening landscaping was inadequate.
“This is business for him, but this is our everyday lives,” Thompson said.
County board member Vern Tepe, who represents the area, voted against the application.
“I have been very, very consistent on any solar installation that has come before this board: If it is directly adjacent to residential, I am not in favor,” Tepe said. “There is plenty of farmland in this county that could benefit from solar as an income that doesn’t have to impact (adjacent) property owners.”
The project would have been TNT’s first venture into solar electricity. Meyer is a former chemical engineer who now owns a financial firm and practices organic farming in Iowa. He leases the Kane County site to another farmer.