FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County planners on Thursday approved preliminary plans for a solar battery storage facility near Lincoln.
The Planning Board unanimously approved plans for the Ozarks Solar Park facility. A permit for the site was approved by the board on Nov. 5 and approved by the Quorum Court at its Nov. 19 meeting.
According to information from the county's planning staff, the site at 11147 s. Wedington Blacktop Road is on 16.5 acres on the west side of the road. It is outside the planning area for Lincoln.
All of the surrounding land is being used for single family residential or agricultural use, according to the planning staff report. One residence is on property adjacent to the site and the house is roughly 90 feet from the property line.
Notices were sent to all property owner within 300 feet of the property proposed for the facility and no comments were received by the planning staff.
The board also unanimously approved a permit for a wireless communications tower on property near Hogeye at Thursday's meeting.
The Hogeye Wireless Communications Facility was requested by Verizon Wireless for a tower to be placed on property at 14652 Hogeye Road. The 305-foot tall tower would be on about .24 acres of the 51-acre parcel. The eased area would be about 10 feet by 100 feet. The tower facility would be in a fenced area about 70 feet by 70 feet.
Regulations for communications towers of this size require a setback of about 472.5 feet from the property line and planning staff said the site meets that requirement. According to the staff report there are no residences within 715 feet of the tower site and the only other structure within that radius is a gas station and convenience store.
According to information from the planning staff, there are no other communications towers within a 1-mile radius of the site. There are five towers with a 5-mile radius of the site.
Planning staff said notices were sent to neighboring property owners and two responded with comments opposing the project. The neighbors said the tower would not be compatible with the rural, residential character of the area and would encourage additional, similar development in the area.