Board of Supervisors meeting highlights
EL CENTRO — On Tuesday, February 14, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors held its regular meeting. The following are highlights of the meeting included in a press release from the Imperial County Executive Office, according to a County of Imperial press release:
The Board honored Assistant Auditor-Controller Shelly Smail for her 31 years of dedicated service to the Imperial County Auditor-Controller’s Office. Smail will be retiring at the end of February.
The board, joined by Marlene Thomas of the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee/chairperson of the MLK Committee, also recognized all the recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Stone of Hope Awards.
The Imperial County Planning & Development Director, Jim Minnick, conducted a presentation on the status of solar development in Imperial County.
Over the past twelve years, the County has processed nearly 60 utility scale solar projects with various outcomes, the release reads. Currently, developed solar projects account for approximately 16,106 acres of total county lands. A combination of approved and pending County solar projects amount to approximately 28,273 acres, with 20,859 acres being on agricultural lands and 7,414 being on other lands.
“With the adoption of the County’s Renewable Energy and Transmission Element and Federal/ State’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), the trend over the past seven years is the move away from the conversion of cultivated farmland in favor of the renewable energy overlay, open space, unused agriculture and industrial lands,” the release reads. “This is quantifiable with approximately 88% of the pending County solar projects and the DRECP’s proposed East Mesa Renewable Energy Project located outside of cultivated farmlands.”
Minnick reiterated that solar development continues to happen within Imperial County, however, regulations are helping to reduce impacts on cultivated farmland. The “Solar Development in Imperial County 2008-2023” report can be read in its entirety at the following link: bit. ly/3Kn35YL.
The board approved a letter to State Senator Steve Padilla and Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia expressing opposition to the proposed proposition called “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act,” which would amend the California Constitution to restrict the ability of the state, local governments, and the electorate to approve or collect taxes, fees, and other revenues, per the press release. Supervisor Luis Plancarte was absent/did not vote.
“The levy of taxes and fees to fund public services is an essential tool of government,” the County release reads. “The COVID pandemic laid bare the necessity of allowing governing bodies at all levels of government to act immediately in order to provide to their communities in times of emergency.