by Dennis Dalman
A solar-garden project was granted a conditional-use permit by the Sartell City Council at its Nov. 13 meeting.
The permit was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Ryan Fitzthum recusing himself because the project will be placed on part of the acreage in north Sartell owned by him, the mayor. Fitzthum not only recused himself but asked council member Tim Elness to serve as temporary mayor during the public hearing as Fitzthum sat in the audience.
The conditional-use permit for the project is actually, technically an “interim-use” permit allowing for the project to be in operation for a maximum of 35 years.
The facility, containing long rows of solar panels, will be capable of producing up to 2 kilowatts of electricity. It will be constructed by Energy Enterprise LLC on the Fitzthum property, which was previously annexed from LeSauk Township into the City of Sartell. The solar garden will be developed on 22.4 acres of land, owned by Fitzthum Development, which is a Minnesota limited liability company.
The large tract of land is located north of 17th Avenue N. and near Pinecone Road N. not too far from Pinecone Central Park.
Enterprise Energy is owned by Evan Carlson of Minneapolis who has done similar projects elsewhere in recent years. Under terms of a solar ordinance approved Oct. 3 by the city council on a vote of 4-1 (with member Jill Smith dissenting), solar gardens are allowed, with many restrictions, on land zoned R1 Residential, which the Fitzthum property is. Those restrictions include screening, setback distances from other city amenities (such as parks, roadways and more), vegetation maintenance and a plan for decommissioning the solar garden (removing it and restoring the land after the 35-year allowable period.) Carlson has submitted to the council all of those plans in elaborate details.
At the public hearing, audience members spoke – some for, some against the solar-garden project. The following are the speakers’ names and brief summaries of their comments:
Nick Bromenschenkel, Sauk Rapids. His parents own land that abuts that land site, and they are opposed to the solar project.
Peter Wilson, Sartell. He said he is opposed to what he called the detrimental environmental effects of solar power, especially after a site has been de-commissioned. Determining the extent of those negative impacts is difficult to assess at this time, he added.
Nathan Dahl of a company named MN Land Liberty. He told the council he supports the project because he has worked on projects with Enterprise Energy owner Evan Carlson, whom he said did very good work.
Janelle Weyer Peterson, Sartell. Her parents, the Weyers, own property near the site. Who, she asked, will benefit from the solar facility and who will get money from it? She said similar projects already in Sartell have no vegetation or seed cover under them, ruining wildlife habitats.
Evan Carlson, Minneapolis. As developer, he obviously supports the project and said he has provided highly detailed plans for screening, planting of native grasses and trees and a comprehensive plan to decommission the site when that time comes.
Doug Ferns, Sartell. He said he opposes the project because he believes there is a conflict of interest because the Sartell mayor owns that property. He also criticized the council for not considering the results of a citywide public survey when the solar ordinance was drafted with help from the planning commission.
After the public hearing, council member Alex Lewandowski said the solar-garden process has been thorough and fair, that there was no “behind-the-scenes” motivations by council members just because that property happens to be owned by the mayor. The project proposal was heavily scrutinized with due diligence and meets all the terms and restrictions of the city’s solar ordinance, Lewandowski added.
At the close of the meeting, Mayor Fitzthum said that has never been a conflict of interest regarding him and his property during the solar-ordinance drafting process or during the permit process.
Construction at the site is expected to begin this coming spring.
An upcoming story in the Newsleaders will give more information about the project, how it will work, who will benefit from solar energy and more.
