Open email sent o Oct 5, 2021 to
JPC, Maysville City Commission and Fiscal Court
Suggested improvements to Sept 2021 draft solar ordinance
We, five Mason County landowners, want to thank each member of the Maysville Mason County Joint Planning Commission. After first considering solar regulation in May 2019, you have this year held several solar workshops and visited Hillcrest SES. In early September, you published a draft ordinance. With its publication, the public can now prepare for your public comment meeting(s). Your draft is a starting point for the public to discuss. We call for you to hold these public meetings as soon as possible. You and the citizens of Mason County need to move forward on this.
To help everyone prepare for these public comment meetings, five pro-solar landowners have reviewed the September 2021 draft ordinance and submit this markup of our suggested improvements.
Be assured we will also enter these comments into the official record when the JPC holds a meeting where the public can speak.
We share this markup now to allow all interested parties to review our proposals and research our evidence.
Mason County has yet to rebound from the almost complete loss of tobacco and dairy. Our proposal will allow well-regulated solar to improve Mason County’s ecological and economic future.
We ask that you consider the origin of each suggested solar regulation. Is it comparable to jurisdictions already enjoying solar’s benefits? Or is it designed only to keep solar out of Mason County?
Those openly opposed to solar want to completely block solar. Our proposal seeks to implement well-regulated solar. As you will see from our comments, we believe some of these “block solar” efforts still exist in the September 2021 Draft ordinance.
We hope you recommend an ordinance that allows solar to replace tobacco and dairy income for the landowners, local tax districts, and the community while it also protects our topsoil and our ecology.
Signed by five Mason County landowners
Dave Clarke
Brenda Cropper
Paul Jackson
Bill Marshall
Mark Ritter
Note – comments in markup are associated with Bill Marshall as he serves as the scribe of our group