Winamac Plan Commission holds public hearing on proposed solar, BESS moratoriums

The Winamac Plan Commission held a public hearing and a special session on July 9 in regards to the consideration of adopting a temporary moratorium on commercial solar energy systems and battery energy storage systems for 12 months within all the zoning districts in the jurisdiction of the Winamac Plan Commission. The Winamac Town Council had referred this proposal to the plan commission at their last regular meeting. Attorney Schramm explained that there is a lot that goes into deciding what kind of long-term qualifications they may want to put in place for commercial solar. The moratorium would give them time to make these decisions. He clarified that this pause would not restrict residential solar or solar used by businesses. Any sort of pause on any item in their zoning ordinance is considered an amendment, therefore they must go through the process of initiating a proposal, holding a public hearing and making a formal recommendation to the Winamac Town Council. The town council will have to meet and act on their recommendation within 90 days. No comments from the public were brought forward.