Commissioners extend moratorium on solar, battery permits for additional 14 days

The Huron County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a 14-day extension of the county's moratorium on the issuance of special use permits for utility-scale solar and battery energy storage sites. The board previously extended the moratorium by 30 days, setting the expiration date for Sept. 12. The extension's approval, however, did not come without pushback from Commissioners Steve Vaughan and John Hunt about the amount of time already spent on the county's solar and battery zoning ordinance. At the time, Hunt said that if the ordinance was not completed within the 30 days and Chairman Sami Khoury attempted to bring another 30-day resolution to the board that he would "argue like hell against it." Chairman Sami Khoury, who made the motion, initially proposed an additional 30-day extension and argued that the planning commission required more time to continue discussing specific aspects of the ordinance, such as setbacks from non-participating property lines and shore lines. Hunt proposed amending the motion to 14 days, stating that it would force the planning commission to "get their coup in a group and meet with whoever's there." Following the board's unanimous approval, the moratorium is now sent to expire on Sept. 26.