Solar farm shot down by City Council

• City and council officials Tuesday denied a permit to a proposed solar farm on the southwestern edge of Sioux Falls.
• The %2425 million project by Minnesota-based Geronimo Energy would generated enough electricity to power about 2%2C000 homes.
• The company declined to comment after the decision. It cannot reapply for a permit for six months.

City and county officials denied a permit to a proposed solar farm Tuesday in front of a roomful of landowners who objected to the project just southwest of Sioux Falls.

In a joint city-county meeting, the Sioux Falls City Council voted 6-2 to deny the Cherry Creek Solar project after a flurry of motions on Minnehaha County's side went nowhere for lack of a second. In the end, the county's motion to deny the permit ended in a 2-2 tie. Recently appointed Commissioner Jean Bender did not participate because her husband's firm was involved in a landowner's appeal.

Tena Rytel, a solar developer with Geronimo Energy, pointed out several times during a meeting that ran almost three hours that the only decision before the two boards should be whether her company had met the permit requirements, and it had. She refused to comment further after the meeting. The company cannot reapply for a permit for six months.

But Commissioner Gerald Beninga described some of her answers to board questions as "flippant," and several officials said they needed to look at the bigger picture because this was a new area.

"We're plowing a brand-new field here," Councilor Greg Jamison said.

Councilor Kermit Staggers, however, accused the boards of practicing micromanagement and urged for the permit's approval. Councilor Rex Rolfing called Staggers "naive." The decisions made by today's council will have long-term future effects, he said, pointing to the city's lack of east-west routes as an example of failing to plan properly.

"For me, this still comes down to location, location, location," said Councilor Rick Kiley. "It's going to be a problem for future councilors down the road."

The $25 million project would have been built on 100 acres of land on West 57th Street near the R.F. Pettigrew Elementary School. It was expected to generate enough power for about 2,000 homes.

Minnesota-based Geronimo was accused of duplicity because it does not have a firm agreement with Xcel Energy or any other power company to purchase the energy generated from the solar farm. Mike Schaffer, a lawyer representing 14 landowners, said the agreement between Geronimo and Xcel Energy was a "shotgun marriage" and that South Dakota had no regulations for a 10-megawatt facility.

The project was too small to be governed by the state Public Utilities Commission, Schaffer said. Rytel countered that her firm always has been honest about the current lack of an energy contract.

"We have been very open about this from the beginning," Rytel said. "We never said this is a for-sure project."

Randy Shaull said he spoke on behalf of more than 30 landowners in urging the commissioners and councilors to "err on the side of caution," but it took multiple motions and a few sharp exchanges before any action occurred.

Councilor Michelle Erpenbach proposed two conditions, one that would have refused the permit until Geronimo proved it had adequate financing for the project "to protect the taxpayers." The county voted first, passing those 3-1, followed by the city with a 7-1 vote.

According to a procedural agreement, the county commissioner would vote first. Commissioner Jeff Barth could not get seconds on motions to defer the vote to April or approve the conditional-use permit. Commissioner Dick Kelly's motion to deny also died for lack of a second.

That led to another Barth motion to defer for two months, and this time Commissioner Cindy Heiberger, who was chairing the meeting, seconded it. The City Council then voted to deny the application, and it passed with Councilor Dean Karsky and Staggers voting no. That's when the county's final motion to deny ended on a tie.