Solar regulation showdown
Marathon session expected as new solar codes are up for a vote Wednesday. Plus, about that city NDA on SK hynix records. Man shot by LPD identified. And who is pulling what ballots in early voting.
Support for this edition comes from the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. You are invited to the LSO Gala: Run for the Roses on Friday, May 1, at the Stables Event Center, 7071 S. County Road 100 East, for a celebration of 75 years of music, a look ahead to what’s next, and the opportunity to rally around the power of live performance in our community. Bring a friend and help us share the magic of the LSO! The evening begins as the gates open for cocktail hour, followed by dinner and an exciting “race” with a creative twist. Enjoy an intimate performance by LSO musicians, then head into the Final Stretch with a paddle raise supporting the orchestra. The night also features a Derby-style fashion parade. Derby attire is encouraged — hats and bow ties expected! Get your tickets now through April 24 at lafayettesymphony.org/gala
Support for Based in Lafayette also comes from Purdue Convocations, presenting Magdalena Bay on Thursday, April 23. Experience the genre-blending pop of Magdalena Bay, the LA-based duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin. Known for shimmering melodies and a nostalgic yet futuristic sound, the pair has earned acclaim for albums like Mercurial World and Imaginal Disk. With a vibrant live show and inventive pop style, Magdalena Bay offers a fresh take on modern pop, featuring an opening set by Purdue student band 3rd Street Collective! Don’t miss it — BUY TICKETS today!
SOLAR REGULATION SHOWDOWN
At some point in the public back-and-forth about proposed zoning codes for large-scale solar energy systems in Tippecanoe County, someone mentioned it might be a good idea to bring popcorn to Wednesday evening’s Area Plan Commission hearing.
It might have been a joke. But it works on a couple of levels.
Wednesday’s hearing – the first chance the full Area Plan Commission board gets a look at new rules in the works for months – is expected to go on for a while with public comment about setbacks, proposed limits on acreage and other codes. Snacks won’t be a bad idea during a meeting scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
The popcorn meme is appropriate, too, given how salty the solar debate remains, with people on all sides telling the APC’s Ordinance Committee during 3½ hours of discussions earlier in April that the current draft either offers insufficient protections for neighbors and farmland or would pose an effective ban on utility-scale solar in Tippecanoe County.
What’s in play: In 2021, the county approved zoning requirements – including those for decommissioning, setbacks and others for agriculturally zoned land – for solar projects of 10 acres or more. Commissioners since have questioned whether those requirements contemplated projects that were more than 100 times bigger. In June 2025, county commissioners imposed a one-year moratorium on large-scale solar proposals to allow a review of zoning codes. That moratorium ends June 2.
The APC’s Ordinance Committee factored in recommendations from a committee assembled by county commissioners, sending proposed development standards to the full APC, including:
Restrictions on AA/select ag land: The current draft of the zoning code would allow large-scale solar projects “by right” in industrial zones or for projects that go through the Board of Zoning Appeals special exception process in agricultural, agricultural-wooded or office research zones. That would strip AA/select agriculture-zoned land from the list of where solar project may go in current regulations. There are 93,950 acres zoned AA/select agriculture in the county, according to APC figures. That includes parts of where the Rainbow Trout project had been slated to go. Making AA/select agriculture land off limits would remove roughly 41% of the acreage currently available for solar projects in unincorporated parts of Tippecanoe County, according to APC figures.
Acreage caps: County commissioners testifying at the Ordinance Committee’s hearing April 1 indicated they favored a 400-acre cap on solar farms, with a total limit of 6,000 acres in the county. For context, the proposed 120-megawatt Rainbow Trout Solar Project – which initiated the zoning code conversation in the first place – would have been 1,700 acres near Montmorenci. They also suggested a one-mile distance between proposed solar projects. Commissioner Tracy Brown said the limits would allow the county to move slowly into projects that would last for 30 years or more. Solar developers and advocates have argued that a cap of that size would discourage any large-scale solar farms.
New setback requirements: Commissioners also backed 500-foot setbacks between project footprints and properties neighboring a solar farm on one side – a move that would go well beyond the current 50 feet. The setbacks suggested by Brown would increase when neighboring properties had panels on two or more sides, as well. Solar developers called those too much.
On decommissioning: The proposed ordinance expands on current guidelines for decommissioning a solar farm. That includes regulations on restoring soil, removing equipment and bonding requirements to pay for it, particularly if a company abandons a project. But some members of the county’s committee called the draft going to the APC incomplete and insufficient to protect neighboring land owners and could leave the county holding the bag if a solar project is abandoned for any reason.
To read the full current proposal, here’s a link.
What’s next: The Area Plan Commission will consider recommendations for rewritten zoning codes for solar energy systems at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. (The discussion will follow an agenda of other subdivision and rezoning requests.) Recommendations from the APC would go to the county commissioners for a final vote as soon as May 4.
For more coverage
In court, in a related move: Last week, a judge granted another extension of time to give the companies tied to the Rainbow Trout Solar Project and the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals a chance to resolve “one remaining issue they are attempting to resolve without the need for court intervention” when assembling the record needed for a judicial review requested in September. The companies are looking for a judge to review the Board of Zoning Appeals’ 5-4 vote to reject its 1,700-acre, 120-megawatt solar farm in the western part of Tippecanoe County. That case includes a group of 11 neighbors who have been allowed by a judge to intervene in the court filings to make sure their objections to the proposed project are presented. As of this week, no trial date had been set. Last week, Tippecanoe Circuit Court Judge Sean Persin granted an extension to May 8 to settle the matter and collect materials for the official record of the case that will be submitted to the court.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
NDA FOR SK HYNIX RECORDS SIGNED OFF BY WEST LAFAYETTE: Members of the West Lafayette board of works wanted assurances Tuesday morning that a non-disclosure agreement between the city and SK hynix – a first of its kind for the city, covering how public records regarding the company would be managed – didn’t mean the city was forfeiting all control to the South Korean semiconductor company.
