Boone County — The Committee of the Whole on Oct. 2 deadlocked on a request for a special-use permit to build a 4.99-megawatt, ground-mounted solar facility on a roughly 36-acre portion of a 39-acre property on Beloit Road in Belvidere Township. After more than two hours of presentation and public comment, the motion to approve the special-use permit failed on a 6–6 vote with two abstentions.

The proposal, filed by Adda Solar LLC and presented by land-use attorney Nick Standiford and developer Ryan Anderson of Cypress Creek Renewables, would install single-axis trackers across the site and, according to the application, could produce about 8,000,000 kilowatt-hours annually — the applicant said that is roughly equivalent to powering 800 single-family homes.

Planning staff summarized the Zoning Board of Appeals record at the committee meeting, noting the ZBA found the request satisfied the zoning-code factors and recommended approval with 20 conditions after a September 23 public hearing. Staff said the proposal included pollinator-friendly plantings, a decommissioning plan, and a utility-easement offer the applicant proposed to address the City of Belvidere’s concerns about future utility expansion.

Attorney Nick Standiford said the developer sought to minimize local concerns and offered conditions, including a utility easement and road improvements. “We proposed a utility easement on the north end of our property so the city can continue to run easements east–west across the property,” Standiford said, adding the applicant had a road-use agreement with Belvidere Township to widen a turn lane at the Beloit/Squaw Prairie intersection.

Developer Ryan Anderson described agrivoltaic features planned for the site, including pollinator plantings and sheep grazing as a vegetation-management strategy. “The combination of pollinators and sheep grazing is not just mowing the weeds — many shepherds run a real farming operation on these fields,” Anderson said, adding he had discussed grazing with experienced local providers.

Opposition in the record came from the City of Belvidere, Growth Dimensions (a regional economic-development group), and some nearby landowners who raised concerns about farmland loss, proximity to School District 100, and whether the site should be reserved for future residential development. Planning staff reported the Soil and Water Conservation District gave an unfavorable opinion based on a high land-evaluation score.

Several county board members spoke at length. Board member Marion Thornberry said he was opposed, citing preservation of productive farmland and the site’s proximity to infrastructure that, in his view, made it well suited for residential development. “When you take one of the highest-producing lands in Boone County and put something on it that cannot be farmed for 30 or 40 years, and still call it farmland, that’s ridiculous,” Thornberry said.

Board member Dave Wiltsie supported the project, citing the ZBA’s unanimous findings on most review factors and the proposed agrivoltaic measures. “This ties up the land for 40 years so it can’t become a parking lot or industrial building,” Wiltsie said.

After roll call on the committee motion, the chair announced the vote as 6 in favor, 6 opposed and 2 abstentions; the motion failed. The committee chair said the item will be placed on the full County Board agenda in two weeks for another vote.

Why this matters: The site is adjacent to developed areas and School District 100 facilities; opponents and supporters framed the issue as a conflict between protecting high-quality farmland and enabling renewable-energy development that could bring tax revenue, local agrivoltaic benefits and utility improvements. The committee’s split means the full board will make the final recommendation.

Next steps: The failed committee motion sends the application to the full Boone County Board for a vote at its next meeting; the applicant and staff indicated several of the ZBA’s recommended conditions could still be amended or clarified before that meeting.