The Fayette Township planning commission held an emergency meeting Jan. 23. Thomas McKenna | Collegian

Fayette Township Board holds emergency meeting to accept resignations from clerks.

Residents in and around Fayette Township are concerned that the company behind a plan to turn 1,350 acres of farmland into a solar farm will ask the state government to step in if local opposition halts the project.

About 15 residents spoke against the project at an emergency meeting of the Fayette Township Board held at Jonesville High School in the afternoon of Jan. 23. Almost every resident who spoke during public comment was against the project, saying the panels would disrupt the view of the landscape and potentially disrupt wildlife and water sources. No speakers voiced support for the project.

The solar project, called “Heartwood Solar II” by Chicago-based Ranger Power company, is the second phase of the similar Heartwood I project approved by the township board in 2022. The company needs the green light from the township’s planning commission, but roughly 200 people attended a planning commission meeting last week to voice opposition to the project.

State Rep. Jennifer Wortz, a Republican who represents parts of Hillsdale and Branch counties, urged the township board to hire a law firm that could help them establish a Compatible Renewable Energy Ordinance, or CREO. This type of ordinance, Wortz said, would let the township set its own zoning rules for building new renewable energy facilities.

A state law that took effect last year now allows the Michigan Public Service Commission, a state regulatory agency with three Democratic members appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to bypass local authorities and approve solar projects despite opposition. If the township adopts a CREO, the state commission would be unable to override local zoning guidelines that could prevent the project, Wortz said.

“Make sure you have a CREO,” Wortz told the township board during public comment. “That’s what I’m encouraging all my townships to do.”

Brady Friss, a development manager for Ranger Power overseeing the Heartwood II project, told The Collegian that asking the state commission to override the local authority is a “last resort.” Friss said he couldn’t say “with 100% certainty” that going to the MSPC is “totally off the table,” but it is not the company’s intention to use it.

“We’re committed to permitting locally,” Friss said. “That said, the state process exists, but we don’t intend to use it.”

The township board publicly announced Friday afternoon’s meeting less than 24 hours in advance with a notice posted outside the township office. Township Supervisor Nate Baker said the meeting was called quickly to accept the resignations of the clerk and deputy clerk, so that it could begin the search to fill the vacancies. The loss of a clerk leaves a vacant fifth seat on the township board, which will need to be filled within 45 days, according to state law.

“If you guys know somebody, we’re looking,” said Scott Playford, the trustee member of the township board.

At the meeting of the full township board Jan. 23, the body voted to add Jared Jordan ’17, chief financial officer and logistics manager at Mar-Vo Mineral Company in Hillsdale, to the planning commission. The planning commission was unable to conduct any business at its meeting last week because it lacked a quorum. One of the seven members was absent, one seat was vacant, and two members had recused themselves due to conflicts of interest with the solar project.

Adding Jordan, who graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in economics, will give the planning commission the quorum it lacked at its Jan. 19 meeting. Jordan declined to comment on the solar project, saying he wants more time to look into the details of the issue.

“I grew up in Scipio Township, just north, adjacent to Fayette Township, and attended school in the township my whole life,” Jordan said. “I’ve grown up here. I care about it. I’ve got two young boys and a third baby on the way. I just care about making sure it’s a good place to live and a good place to raise a family.”

Friss said Ranger Power has worked to build relationships with local landowners and community members.

“These projects are completely voluntary,” Friss said. “We won’t have eminent domain or any type of acquisitions for this type of project. Private landowners think this is the best use for their private property and a project that they want to participate in.”

Friss said the company conducts extensive environmental reviews, including effects on water sources, before starting construction on the project.

“We do a lot of work early on to minimize concerns of wetland or threatened and endangered species habitat impacts,” Friss said. “The projects do field surveys of the whole project area.”

Ranger Power has contributed $30,000 to supplies and programs at Jonesville Community Schools, as well as local food pantries, Friss said. The company has also partnered with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office to provide funding for equipment and training. At the project’s completion, Ranger plans to establish long-term endowments for schools and other local needs totaling more than $500,000.

“That money would be continually put into the community year after year,” Friss said, “directly into local schools, directly to teachers who are able to benefit residents’ lives and students’ lives year after year.”

Two members of the seven-person planning commission, Dale Baker and Steve McElroy, have recused themselves from any business dealing with the solar project, since they both have personal stakes in the project. Baker said he has entered an agreement with Ranger Power to lease about 850 acres for the project, more than half of the project’s land.

Dale Baker’s son, Nate Baker, is the township’s supervisor. He has recused himself from votes related to the project.

Planning Commission Chair Jane Munson said the body is trying to meet the second weekend in February, when Munson said the seven-member commission hopes to have a quorum.