Dates and times for a public forum to discuss solar farms have been set by the Acadia Parish Police Jury.
During a special meeting on Jan. 11 jurors unanimously approved holding a forum to discuss the proposed solar farms in the parish. The forum is set for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the LSU Ag/Co-Op Building.
Prior to the end of the meeting, public comments were heard, and three individuals spoke about solar farms in the parish.
Gibson Miller, who lives north of Iota, was the first to speak. Miller said he is not against the solar farms, but he is against putting them in densely populated communities.
“It is important that we don’t disturb the integrity of that community,” Miller said.
Miller said that some residents near the planned solar farm to be located near Iota “are not real excited about this tragedy that they are going to be forced to deal with for the next, I guess, what, 25, 30 years.”
“We don’t know what will happen after that,” he added.
Miller asked that the police jury reconsider its decision to have solar farms near populated areas in the parish.
Matthew Garber, a part owner in Garber Farms who has property involved in solar farm development just north of Evangeline, also spoke.
“We view this (solar) project as a sense of pride and future for our family farm. I am diversifying my farm’s income with green energy while keeping ownership of the ground under that solar project,” he said.
Garber said farming has been tough in recent years, and a solar farm is the friendliest alternative for the community with no additional houses and traffic and no additional demand on the aquifer. He said his parents, brother and son all live in the Evangeline community, near the solar farm project.
“I also have neighbors that wish they had the option to get in on a project like this,” Garber said.
Garber thanked the police jury for being open to diversity, the police jury’s work put into the solar farm ordinance and the ordinance fence, setback and screening requirements.
“Remember, solar is not new, solar is everywhere,” Garber added.
He continued, “I always viewed solar as normal, safe and a great technology for humankind. I also have feelings about a lot of things I see on people’s property in my community and across the parish, but if laws are not broken, then it’s their right.
“I wish I could decide what happens to property I do not own, but I can not. I wish I could control the view from my house, fully, but I do not. I wish I could control the view of the property I drive by when I go to town, but I cannot. We live in America, and we do enjoy property rights, but my private property is not public property no matter what anyone thinks. Be careful about future, additional property restrictions. Weigh each one carefully.”
One person in the audience clapped after Garber spoke.
District 1 Juror Walter Andrus then asked to speak to the audience.
“I don’t know where people were when we had all these public hearings where we invited people to come in when we first started talking about solar farms, that they were going to be a possibility, that we were going to be getting solar farms in Acadia Parish in certain areas. Whenever there’s a public hearing that is called for, that’s the time where people are supposed to come here and make their claim, you know, whether you are for it or against it, and that would help us make our decision here.
“Now, at the time when this came up, we didn’t hear from anybody saying that they didn’t want it. Now, they had certain requests (to be added to the solar farm ordinance or changed in the ordinance) ... but no one said they that they didn’t want it.”
Police Jury Attorney Glen Howie then also asked to speak.
“Solar farms are being put on these people’s farms without the parish doing anything. The adoption of the solar farm ordinance was to regulate what happens at the end and make sure there is a decommissioning process bonded where the parish itself is kind of protected. ... There would be solar farms without our ordinance.”
Debra Hoffpauir spoke last and voiced concerns about how the solar farms would affect water and air quality, possible fire hazards and whether solar farms were an efficient form of energy. Hoffpauir said she wants protection from the concerns she voiced before solar farms are built in the parish.
Several police jury members then encouraged the three speakers to attend the Jan. 31 public forum.