Board of Zoning Appeals rejects appeal to revoke solar permit

The Pulaski County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) met on July 28 to hold a public hearing for an application for administrative appeal which was filed by Gail Lambert and Jaybird Farm Trust. It was submitted to appeal the building inspector’s decision to not revoke Mammoth Solar permit #4242 issued on Feb. 25 and her decision to not issue a stop work order on the project. Permit #4242 is specific to Mammoth Solar South. Building Inspector Karla Redweik briefly read the reasoning behind the request to revoke the permit. There are three main points, which are as follows: "there is no decommissioning plan for the properties that are the subject of the building permit, while a plan is in place for a prior phase involving different parcels in a different permit; there is no Road Use Management Agreement (RUMA) approved by the commissioners; and that, upon belief, adequate financial assurance has not been provided to the county and certainly not provided in a RUMA approved by the commissioners because such a document did not exist when the building permit was issued and does not exist now." Redweik said that exhibits have been given to the board and to Lambert's attorney in response to the claims. She read that there is a decommissioning plan that was dated and submitted Friday, Jan. 17 and there are separate plans for Mammoth Central I, II and South; there is a road use agreement that was approved by the commissioners on Nov. 3, 2022; and that two financial bonds are dated Nov. 3, 2022, one dated Jan. 3, 2025 and another dated Feb. 4, 2025.