COLUSA COUNTY, CA (MPG) – The Colusa County Board of Supervisors has continued the public hearing on a controversial solar electricity generation project for one month to determine if a board member – or possibly two – have conflicts of interest.
The board was set to hear an appeal of the Colusa County Planning Commission’s denial of a conditional use permit on the Janus Solar and Battery Storage Project on Nov. 7, but was still awaiting an opinion from the Fair Political Practices Commission.
The conflicted member of the board was not named, but opponents of the project said previously they want Chairman Kent Boes disqualified because he is a volunteer with the Williams Fire Protection Authority.
The solar project is proposed to be built on grazing land about 6.5 miles southwest of Williams, and the Fire Protection Authority is a named recipient of mitigation funding.
At last week’s meeting, Supervisor Daurice Kalfsbeek-Smith volunteered that she would also like a determination on whether she has a financial conflict of interest before participating in the decision-making process.
According to her Form 700, Smith, works for Hoblit Motors. She lists
her spouse’s income from agricultural services.
Boes, who previously served as a member of the Williams City Council, reports no direct income from the fire department.His spouse’s income reportedly comes from employment at a dental office.
Should Boes and Smith recuse themselves, it would require all three remaining supervisors voting in favor to approve a conditional use permit for the project to move forward, County Counsel Richard Stout said.
The Janus Solar Project has been in the works since 2020. Once built, it would
generate up to 80 megawatts of electricity from 196,000 solar panels on
approximately 768 acres of a 1,024-acre site, county officials said.
Those who oppose the project, mostly neighboring landowners, fear it will lower property values, change the historic use of the land, pose a fire risk, create dust, and affect bird migration.
Proponents of the project say the facility will generate $15.9 million in one-time economic activity during construction, as much as $443,000 annually in property tax revenue (up from $10,000), $400,000 in additional annual funding for public services, generate $3.2 million total in sales taxes over the lifetime of the project, and help meet the demand for renewable energy.
The biggest test for the supervisors is whether the project, which would be decommissioned and removed after 30 years, is an allowable use of property in
exclusive agriculture zones and consistent with the county’s general plan, which has been the basis of the dispute between the parties.
The board has set the public hearing at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 7.