Oconee County Commission Chairman Was Matchmaker For Proposed Solar Energy Farm In Northwest Of County

Residents in the northwest of the county may have been surprised late last year when signs went up announcing public hearings on a proposed change in land use to allow for development of a solar energy farm on 238 acres at the intersection of McNutt Creek Road and Dials Mill Road.

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis had known about and promoted the project for at least a year and three quarters.

In January of 2015, Davis had put the developer, Neville Anderson, in touch with the land owner, Don Hammond, for the specific purpose of developing the solar farm.

Davis then initiated the effort to get the county to change its zoning laws to allow for construction of the solar farm on the agriculturally zoned land.

The Board of Commissioners approved those changes on March 1.

Davis also has worked more recently behind the scenes to provide fellow commissioners with information supportive of the special use approval for the solar farm that property owner Hammond is seeking from the county.

Commissioners William “Bubber” Wilkes and Mark Saxon, the only commissioners other than Davis eligible to vote after the public hearing on Dec. 6, refused to go along with Davis’ effort, putting off until the Commission meeting on Jan. 3 a decision on the request.

For details of this story, based on an email trail created by Davis and others, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Sign Announcing Rezone Hearings.