STOCKTON, Ala. (WALA) – North Baldwin residents fighting a large-scale solar farm got a new tool Tuesday when the Baldwin County Commission passed a resolution requiring a special referendum to establish zoning in Planning District 3.
The move comes as opposition grows to Silicon Ranch’s planned Stockton solar site near Stockton.
Meagan Fowler with Stop Solar in Baldwin and Friends of the Tensaw River said the momentum has been significant.
“Everything has moved along as fast as you possibly can,” Fowler said. “I mean, we were given a hundred and eighty days to get our signatures for the petition and we had that in twenty-four hours.”
Fowler said thousands of people have joined the Stop Solar in Baldwin Facebook group.
“This is a very meaningful step for our community and moves us in the right direction,” she said. “We have very little tools at hand to be able to fight something like this with such powerful companies, but this is something that we can do and I’m so grateful our commissioners have listened. They understand the seriousness of this, and timing is of utmost importance.”
How the referendum process works
The Probate Court has 90 days to schedule an election. If voters say no, things stay as they are. A yes vote triggers a 180-day moratorium on any development within Planning District 3 while residents form a committee and work out zoning guidelines.
But even that may not prevent Silicon Ranch from proceeding.
Jay Dickson, Baldwin County planning and zoning director, said projects that apply before the referendum vote will be grandfathered in.
“What that means is that all projects that apply after that fact will have to wait a hundred and eighty days until the zoning maps and local provisions are developed to be able to proceed forward with their project,” Dickson said. “However, if there’s any applications for major projects that come in prior to the referendum vote, they will be grandfathered in and be allowed to continue on their path under the old rules.”
Fowler said she is aware of that possibility but remains hopeful citizens will be able to have input. The county has not received any building applications from Silicon Ranch.
“We’re upset with a lot of folks,” Fowler said. “I mean, you’ve got the landowners, the investors, the PSC…just the whole system, the way it was created to where folks who live in unzoned, unincorporated areas have no input or notice.”
Similar pushes for zoning referendums are underway in neighboring planning districts.
Silicon Ranch said it will respond to the resolution Wednesday. The company will hold a public meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the John F. Rhodes Civic Center in Bay Minette.
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