The Great Bend City ordinance regulating solar conversion systems that failed to pass in December was adopted by the City Council on Monday by a vote of 5-2.

The item was added to the agenda at the start of the meeting, after swearing in those who were elected or reelected last November. Gary Parr joined the council, taking the seat won from Lindsey Krom-Craven. 

Others sworn in were returning council members Tina Mingenback and Kevyn Soupiset. Davis Jimenez was also reelected in November but was absent Monday, so he will take the oath of office later.

Councilwoman Jolene Biggs made the motion, seconded by Soupiset, to revisit solar regulations.

“I voted against that ordinance (on Dec. 16) because I would like to see it modified,” Biggs said. She would like the 1,000-foot setback from residential structures to be doubled to 2,000 feet.

Although she did not agree with the regulations as described in the ordinance, Biggs said she did want the city to have an ordinance concerning solar regulations in the 3-mile zone.

“We need regulations specific to large-scale solar facilities,” Biggs said. “This is a relatively new industry and the evidence presented to the Planning Commission and this council indicates there can be benefits to solar-generated power but there are also concerns about how large-scale facilities affect the land they are on and the impact they can have and the dangers they present to neighboring land. Regulation is needed to address these concerns.”

Biggs said it is important to remember that the way land is used within the 3-mile zone can affect the city’s future growth.

Councilman Alan Moeder said he still supported following the county’s regulation and was also fine with the compromise that the proposed ordinance from December offered. People who live in the county and pay property taxes are fine with the county regulations, he said, noting, “We would still have to come back for a use permit every time.”

Parr said he was willing to split the difference with a 1,500-foot setback. “Would anybody oppose meeting in the middle?”

He agreed that landowners should have a right to do what they want with their land, within reason. No one can put in a solar field without a permit approved by the city council. He asked what benefits the city or county might see, monetarily.

Moeder answered, “The City will receive nothing, but I have been told by a trustee at the college that their mill levy will drip by a third. They’ve done a study out there.” The Great Bend school district would also benefit, he added.

Councilwoman Tina Mingenback, who abstained in the December vote, said she was ready to support the ordinance. “I needed to get some education,” she said. “I do think we should follow along the line of what the county has done.”

She said she has talked to people who live near the college and found some for and some against solar facilities. However, “everyone wants some form of regulation.”

Mayor Cody Schmidt said he would not be voting Monday, since the mayor only votes in case of a tie, but he supported sticking with the original ordinance.

“I’ve talked to Jolene about her 2,000-foot setbacks,” Schmidt said. “We did the work, we have the Planning Commission’s recommendation, and I feel very comfortable with what we brought to the table the first time.”

With regulations in place, an entity would still need City Council approval for a conditional use permit to put in a solar plant.

“The conditional use permit is the saving grace for all of this,” Schmidt said. “Every step will be case by case where the council will get the final say.”

Schmidt said a motion was needed. Biggs saw she did not have five votes needed to modify the proposed ordinance. Moeder made the motion, seconded by Cory Urban, to approve the ordinance that was first presented on Dec. 16. That passed 5-2, with Biggs and Rickee Madox voting no.