Get caught up- ZTA 20-01 would allow commercial solar on up to 3 square miles of the Ag Reserve with scant protections for productive soils, forests or water quality. Fact Sheet Here. Along with many hundreds of residents both up and down county urging caution, our partners at Audubon Naturalist Society and Clean Water Action have added their list of concerns in testimony here.
A broken commitment to providing the means toward getting solar right through meaningfully committee/work group process... a process that would have addressed the concerns and suggestions from those most affected by the proposed zoning change... farm businesses.
Council President Katz had a great opening statement on how Ag Reserve land was being considered for this project because it was cheaper and instead of the ZTA going too far he thinks it did not go far enough in getting solar arrays throughout the county, including downcounty. He raised the important point that holding these meetings by zoom and on you tube was leaving out the very people that live in the Ag Reserve and through no fault of their own have no access to broadband. In calling for a task force, he was joined by Craig Rice and Nancy Navarro. Councilmember Navarro related the story she told us on our Zoom call with her some weeks ago about the empty shelves she found on trips to the grocery store early in the pandemic while shopping for her family and how the Ag Reserve has a role to play in food security.
Then the waters got muddy, Council President Katz was asked to give shape to the Task Force he was proposing and Councilmembers seemed to get hung up on whether the work would be done in 2 months or 4 months and how many people would be on the committee. Councilmember Hucker, a co-sponsor of this ZTA had told us in a zoom call previously that a Task Force was the way to go as the Council was mired in so many other things at the moment. He then joined the other councilmembers curtailing the length and breadth that task force could take until it was not a task force at all. The Council began to move away from the idea of a formal task force, Councilmembers teased amendments they had to the ZTA that were forthcoming, consensus seemed to move toward a listening session with stakeholders and then to just returning the ZTA to the committee that voted for it’s approval in the first place who would hold 3 sessions with stakeholders – probably over zoom.
The end result of the 180 turn from better involving stakeholders to just informally returning the issue to the same committee again to reconsider a flawed proposal caused consternation on the part of Councilmember Friedson who asked staff to weigh in on whether a vote was needed. Hearing it was not he expressed surprise and dismay that this decision could be made with out a vote.
Council President Katz had a great opening statement on how Ag Reserve land was being considered for this project because it was cheaper and instead of the ZTA going too far he thinks it did not go far enough in getting solar arrays throughout the county, including downcounty. He raised the important point that holding these meetings by zoom and on you tube was leaving out the very people that live in the Ag Reserve and through no fault of their own have no access to broadband. In calling for a task force, he was joined by Craig Rice and Nancy Navarro. Councilmember Navarro related the story she told us on our Zoom call with her some weeks ago about the empty shelves she found on trips to the grocery store early in the pandemic while shopping for her family and how the Ag Reserve has a role to play in food security.
Then the waters got muddy, Council President Katz was asked to give shape to the Task Force he was proposing and Councilmembers seemed to get hung up on whether the work would be done in 2 months or 4 months and how many people would be on the committee. Councilmember Hucker, a co-sponsor of this ZTA had told us in a zoom call previously that a Task Force was the way to go as the Council was mired in so many other things at the moment. He then joined the other councilmembers curtailing the length and breadth that task force could take until it was not a task force at all. The Council began to move away from the idea of a formal task force, Councilmembers teased amendments they had to the ZTA that were forthcoming, consensus seemed to move toward a listening session with stakeholders and then to just returning the ZTA to the committee that voted for it’s approval in the first place who would hold 3 sessions with stakeholders – probably over zoom.
The end result of the 180 turn from better involving stakeholders to just informally returning the issue to the same committee again to reconsider a flawed proposal caused consternation on the part of Councilmember Friedson who asked staff to weigh in on whether a vote was needed. Hearing it was not he expressed surprise and dismay that this decision could be made with out a vote.
The bitter irony is that in watching this part – our staff in the Reserve was unable to follow the discussion as youtube kept freezing – because, again, broadband internet is not available. The same thing happens on zoom or any other internet-based platform. Calling the phone line to listen to council meetings yielded – silence. When we tweeted at the Council about this, the reply came back that the meeting was also on cable. We, like many, many other residents do not have cable. This means the meeting could not be seen or heard (and many will have issues watching the recorded version) for the very people this proposal would impact most.
While in-person public meetings are not safe right now and MCA is not advocating they take place, the way that civic engagement has moved online has left out the Reserve community right at the time that a potentially disastrous proposal impacting farm economics, forest protection and water quality is speeding toward passage with the entirety of the Reserve community and a broad coalition of downcounty organizations vehemently opposed.
Where things now stand: The ZTA will now proceed back to the committee chaired by Councilmember Riemer, the sponsor of the ZTA. We are not optimistic that CM Riemer will consider substantive changes from farmers to his proposal, if the online platform was even working to make those suggestions. At this worksession council meeting, the only non-county employees on the zoom were a solar industry representative and a representative of Sierra Club an ardent backer of this ZTA despite its impact on forests, water quality, etc. Though neither were given time to speak, there were no representatives of the farm community and the head of the office of agriculture, Jeremy Criss was not given time to speak.
It leaves us with a question – why aren’t we taking a few more months to get solar right? Why aren’t we waiting for the Climate Action Resilience Plan (CARP) due out next month that was bankrolled by the County to tackle just these sorts of legacy climate solutions?
Thanks to the many, many people who have written the council on this issue. Please stay tuned as this new phase develops.
MCA is the lean, tenacious and award winning organization born of and for Montgomery County's Ag Reserve. Since 2001 we have been the boots on the ground focused on the protection of the small farms in the Ag Reserve, local food production and the protection of our shared water supply. We would be honored by your financial support.
