The Kentucky Court of Appeals has issued a ruling in a case involving a company looking to develop a solar farm and agrivoltaics operation in Glendale.
According to a decision rendered on October 24, the court vacated and remanded Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock’s October 2024 order denying CPV Stonecrop Solar LLC’s petition for declaration of rights.
According to the decision, Stonecrop obtained option agreements to lease property from several property owners in Hardin County, under the terms of which the company could lease 640 acres of property to build an 82-megawatt agrivoltaics operation on land zoned for agricultural and rural use. Stonecrop argued in their petition to Hardin County Planning and Development Commission Director Adam King in January of 2024 that the county’s Planning Commission had no jurisdiction on the matter because “the agricultural supremacy act and the Right to Farm Act were applicable” as an agricultural land use was involved.
The company filed a petition for declaratory judgement in Hardin Circuit Court, and in October 2024 Judge Ashlock determined that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and ruled that the Stonecrop project must first go through the Planning Commission’s administrative process and legislative review by the Hardin County Fiscal Court.
The appeals court said in their opinion that it was within the circuit court’s jurisdiction to determine if the agrivoltaics operation constitutes an agricultural use, and therefore the court may hold evidentiary hearings “to discern the relative facts.” The appeals court stressed in their opinion that they are making no determination on agricultural uses, only on the dismissal of the petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
According to a release from the circuit court, the Hardin County Planning and Zoning Commission has 30 days to seek further review by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
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