Shining a Light on Restrictive Solar Ordinances in Monroe   

By Steven Meyer

At the Monroe Dems monthly meeting on June 1st, Paul Wohlfarth delivered a guest presentation about the various groups that have rapidly pushed anti-solar energy ordinances into effect throughout Monroe County. Paul was assisted in the presentation by Mark Farris and Bill Saul. The presenters encouraged everyone to join the Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter to help advance pro-renewable energy legislation (1). On May 17, both Paul and Bill participated in the Sierra Club’s Citizen Lobby Day in Lansing. Bill explained, “It’s very inexpensive... The day we were there, there were 130 Sierra Club members in Lansing... We went into office after office after office for a whole day... So, if you want to get into a group that’s tied to this really big thing and go solar: Sierra Club.” Legislation that Paul, Bill and the other volunteers lobbied for were “Community Solar” (SB 152-153 and HB 4464-4465), and requested the state to remove the cap on rooftop solar and restore net-metering (2). The Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic party also supports the furtherance of solar farms and wind farms (3).

Paul presented a large map of Monroe County from September 2022, colored and labeled with descriptions on each local township about the status of “exclusionary zoning” ordinances on solar energy. The term “exclusionary zoning” is broadly defined and usually refers the methods of bad city planners who enforce racial and class segregation and suppression by distinguishing different areas as single-family housing and multi-family housing, city resources then become inequitably disbursed to those different zones which causes a profoundly disproportionate quality of life between those zones (4). For solar farms “exclusionary zoning” means when local planners limit solar development to industrial zones and restrict it from areas zoned as agricultural or residential. As Paul explained, “This story hasn’t been told at all... [pointing to the map] This all went on in one year. They went from township to township, these anti-green energy groups... and they used an ordinance that was put together in Riga Township by Kevon Martis... He goes around all over the Midwest stopping these green energy projects.” Paul specified some of the restrictive ordinances, “500 ft setbacks off of the property lines... 40 dBA sound limits [equal to a quiet library (5)]... some of them even outlawed P.A. 116 land [A Michigan Law for Farmland Preservation (6)]... Ash Township and Exeter Township... they’re gonna go ten percent lot coverage on solar farms. Ten percent?! You’re not gonna get a solar farm with that”.

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Paul described a pivotal event in Monroe, “It was in February of 2022, in Monroe there was a group – it has a Facebook page, ‘Stop Solar! Save the Farms!’” That group sent out invitations titled, “SOLAR ZONING INFORMATION SESSION; An Educational Seminar for Township Officials; Townships Invited Include: Erie, Frenchtown, Ida, LaSalle, London, Milan, & Rasinville; (This meeting is by invitation only due to limited space.)” One line emphasized in large bold letters, “Featured Presenter; Kevon Martis”. Their stated objective, “Meet and network with other township officials that are presently working on solar ordinances. Gain information to make important decisions that will impact your community”. Paul and Mark tried to attend but were denied entry. Paul wrote about it in a column for the Monroe News, “A sign-in desk was at the entrance to screen entrants by the Stop Solar sponsors. Anyone not on the approved list was rejected” (7). The Ida Community Room where it was held has a capacity for 80 people (8), yet as Paul observed, “The meeting drew 40 Monroe township officials including one curious state representative.” Mark Farris named T.C. 

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Clements was that now former representative, and he also observed Pat Porter a current Milan Township Planning Commissioner in attendance. So, excluding Paul and Mark from that half-capacity room proved that “limited space” was a lie to try to justify preventing the public from witnessing elected officials from all over Monroe discussing new ordinances “that will impact your community”. Mark immediately filed a complaint with the Attorney General citing a violation of the Open Meetings Act (9). Afterward, all seven of the Monroe Townships named in the invitation have drafted or are currently drafting new ordinances restricting Solar energy.

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Sources:

1: Sierra Club - Michigan Chapter: https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan

2: May 17, 2023 Lobby Day - Sierra Club Michigan – Citizen Lobbyist Handbook (PDF): https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/citizen-lobbyists

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3: Positions of the Rural Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party: https://mdpruralcaucus.com/positions/

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4: June 17, 2021 – White House Council of Economic Advisors, “Exclusionary Zoning: Its Effect on Racial Discrimination in the Housing Market”: https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/06/17/exclusionary-zoning-its-effect-on-racial-discrimination-in-the-housing-market/

5: August 21, 2022 - Audicus article, “Noise levels of everyday sounds”: https://www.audicus.com/noise-levels-of-everyday-sounds/

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6: Michigan Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program, Commonly known as P.A. 116 (pdf): https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/environment/farmland/pa_116_eligibility_requirements.pdf

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7: February 23, 2022 – Monroe News Opinion Column by Paul Wohlfarth, “Solar power events were tale of two meetings”: https://www.monroenews.com/story/opinion/columns/2022/02/23/paul-wohlfarth-solar-power-events-were-tale-two-meetings/6884898001/

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8: The Ida Township Community Room: https://idatownship.org/community-room/

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9: Open Meetings Act Handbook – Attorney General Dana Nessel (PDF): https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/AG/open-meetings/OMA_handbook.pdf

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