Sparked by AES battery development, residents ask Huntingburg for development moratorium

Huntingburg resident Amanda Souders Harris urged the common council to enact a temporary moratorium on new development within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) until the Unified Development Ordinance can be updated to address large-scale projects that current regulations weren’t designed to handle.

Harris told the council the community faces developmental pressures from data centers, solar projects, small modular nuclear reactors, gas plants and new technologies that the existing UDO cannot properly regulate in the areas around the city that fall under the city’s jurisdiction.

“ETJ is being treated as a place of rapid high-impact projects. Yet our UDO has not been updated to reflect intentional long-term planning for this area or to protect our residents who live there,” Harris told the council.

The request comes as the city grapples with an ongoing solar project by AES that includes a battery energy storage system. Part of the project is located within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but not the batteries.

City Attorney Phil Schneider explained that moratoriums require going through the UDO amendment process, including referral to the planning commission, public hearings and passing an ordinance. State law limits moratoriums to one year, and the city would need to hire consultants to draft development plans or restrictions during that time.

The city has already made changes to address some concerns. Commercial solar facilities have been changed from a permitted use to a special-use exception, requiring petitions to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The changes mean the board of zoning appeals has to determine that the use would not jeopardize property values, public health and other factors before permitting is approved.

The same regulations would apply to data centers and similar projects not specifically called out in the ordinance, Schneider said.

If a developer proposed another large system in the two-mile jurisdiction, they would need to apply to the BZA for a special use exception. The BZA would hold a public hearing and make five findings, including that the use would not jeopardize property values, would not be injurious to public health and welfare, and would not overburden roadways and utilities.

“If we don’t have the water or the electric or anything or roadways support it, they could turn it down and they would have the legal authority to be able to just say no,” Mayor Neil Elkins said.

The BZA can also place additional conditions and restrictions on approved projects. Previously, when commercial solar wasn’t a special use, developers only had to comply with development plans that officials describe as “fairly vague” and “fairly lax.”

“At the time that UDO was developed back in 2021-22, these big commercial solar facilities of our consultants. So they are now,” Schneider said.

Council members acknowledge that broader county zoning could help address the issue. Dubois County is one of the few counties without zoning regulations, which officials say makes it a target for large developments.

“Without plan and zoning, the county can’t do much. They can, they can, they can restrict use of county roads, but that’s about it,” Schneider said.

The county is considering zoning as it works on updating its comprehensive plan but no timeline has been set nor discussions held to move the needle on that consideration.

The city is currently in negotiations with AES and the solar developer CrossVine, though Scheider said he cannot discuss details due to attorney-client privilege. There’s also a legal question about whether the new special use exception requirements apply to the current project, which may face litigation.

Harris emphasizes that a moratorium wouldn’t reject growth but would ensure responsible development.

“A pause is not a rejection of growth. It is a commitment for responsible growth. It ensures that the development is safe, compatible and consistent with the standards we expect for the rest of our community,” she said.

The moratorium would give the city time to update the UDO, evaluate risks and protect residents, schools, natural resources and future land use patterns, Harris argued.

Council members express sympathy for residents’ concerns while noting their limited authority over the larger project, much of which extends beyond their jurisdiction.

“I think we are attempting to do everything we can do within our rights and codes we are committed to,” Councilman Steve McPherron said. “Our hands are kind of tied on how much we can do, and we only have a very small snippet of the entire project.”

About 265 acres of the estimated 1,600-acre project fall within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.