Sartell Approves Three-Month Solar Garden Moratorium

(KNSI) – Sartell City Council on Monday voted 4-1 in favor of a three-month moratorium on new solar garden developments.

The lone no vote was cast by Mayor Ryan Fitzthum. He tells KNSI News using moratoriums is turning into a crutch for the city. “This is our third moratorium that’s out there now. We had one previously on multifamily, we currently have one on stockpiles in our community, and now on solar and, I think, in a lot of ways we need to lean in and refine ordinances versus just putting a stop to them with moratoriums.”

There is no grandfather clause for projects where plans have already been submitted and approved, meaning lights out for those projects. Fitzthum has a stake in at least one of them. The council considered a six-month pause with a grandfather clause. It deadlocked 2-2, with Fitzthum abstaining because of a conflict of interest.

The Sartell Planning Commission had recommended a six-month plan.

The council chose three months instead of six after consulting with staff on when an ordinance update could be completed. A public hearing could come as early as the beginning of June.

Currently, a two megawatt complex is allowed in residential areas and a five megawatt facility is permitted in industrial zones. It takes about 10 acres of solar arrays to generate a megawatt of power. The worry is that projects begun today could conflict with future development, particularly in single-family neighborhoods. If homeowners balk at living next to a solar facility, city staff is concerned islands will form around the solar gardens as additional parts of LeSauk Township are annexed into the city.

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