BY SALINA POST
According to a press release emailed by Saline County on Monday, Oct. 2, the previous press release emailed on Friday, Sept. 29, communicating that the vote from the Tuesday, Sept. 26 Saline County Planning and Zoning meeting to deny CUP23-103 as invalid, is no longer accurate.
A battery-based electric storage and distribution facility proposed by Mountain Peak Energy Storage, LLC (Plus Power) has been officially denied.
The Saline County Planning and Zoning Commission met September 26 to discuss a the facility. The proposed site is located on approximately 40 acres at the southwest corner of McReynolds Road and Simpson Road.
A previous release regarding this issue deemed the application approved; however, after consulting with legal counsel, it was determined that the Planning and Zoning Commission bylaws supersede state statutes. Therefore, the application is denied.
According to the bylaws, four votes are needed to approve a motion in a meeting where six of the nine members of the Commission are present.
The commission voted on approving the facility with three in favor, two against, and one abstention - the Commission deemed the motion failed due to the abstention; unfortunately, this was in error. The motion to approve the application was denied due to the lack of a fourth in favor of approval.
A vote to deny the application followed with four in favor, one against, and one abstention – the application was deemed denied. However, this final vote was not necessary because the previous vote also deemed the application denied.