COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals voted to deny a request for a conditional use permit for Carina Solar to allow a commercial solar energy system in the Agriculture Preferred zoning district. The vote was 4-1 against the proposal.
The project includes multiple parcels of land is located generally south of County Road 100S, west of County Road 525E, east of South Gladstone Avenue and north of county road 400S in Columbus Township.
Carina Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of Samsung’s C&T, submitted an application for a conditional use permit to construct, operate and maintain a proposed 100 megawatt AC power generation facility. It would be placed on 48 parcels of scattered cultivated agricultural fields leased to the company by 24 local landowners.
The proposed project would be located on a total of approximately 1,883 acres of leased property north of E 400 S Road, west of S 525 E, east of S Gladstone Avenue, and south of E 100 S.
Roughly 1,124 acres of the proposed project are located within county jurisdiction and were subject to Monday’s meeting.
The other 795 acres are in city jurisdiction, necessitating a separate conditional use request, according to Columbus/Bartholomew County Planning Director Jeff Bergman. The Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals will take up on the matter during its meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight inside the first floor Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall.
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