OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners held the first of two public hearings regarding solar facilities in agricultural zoning and an amendment for the maximum height of aircraft hangars in approved fly-in communities at their Nov. 4, 2025 meeting.

State statutes now allow solar facilities in agricultural zonings as permitted use. Staff is proposing some development standards for solar facilities in A-1, agricultural zoning. Additionally, the Marion County Land Development Regulation Commission proposed a change for accessory use aircraft hangars in approved fly-in communities to raise the maximum height, which is currently 30 feet. The LDRC would like it to be amended to 50 feet, said, Kenneth Weyrauch, Marion County growth services deputy director.

Alternative energy methods

The proposed development standards for solar energy facilities would require mechanical equipment including solar panels and similar structures to be set back 100 feet from all property boundaries. The solar facility power inverters and similar equipment shall be oriented toward the interior of the site away from adjacent properties and be set back a minimum of 300 feet from the property boundary because of the noise that’s generated.

Some of the setback requirements are because of the panels, as the infrastructure may cause stormwater to run off a little bit faster, said Weyrauch. That would allow for the water to percolate before it gets to the property boundary, and also to protect the adjacent agricultural uses from any noise and light.

Setting the standards

Marion County Commission Chair Kathy Bryant asked if, since solar is now permittable in agricultural zoning, A-1 due to Florida state statute, does the county have to make it allowable under its own A-1 zoning. Bryant and Commissioner Craig Curry expressed some concerns.

“We don’t have to put it as a permitted use in A-1, but it’s helpful if we have development standards so it’s clear, here’s what you’re going to do, if you’re going to do development solar facilities in Ag in Marion County,” said Weyrauch.

“It’s not that we’re out of line, it’s just that we don’t have any development standards in as a permitted use in agriculture,” said Weyrauch. “There’s some confusion as to how do you build a solar facility in Ag in Marion County.”

Chair Bryant’s question was, if the county doesn’t want it to be a blanket permitted use, can it be done, if it’s a permitted use in Florida State Statute?

“Like other things, in Ag classifications, if the state statutes says it’s a permitted use, it’s a permitted use,” said Matthew Minter, Marion County attorney. “What [Weyrauch] is saying is, rather than just having an open-ended thing, it would be prudent for us to have some standards that would apply.”

Since Florida State Statute says solar is a permitted use in A-1 under the Marion County Land Development Code, it’s now a permitted use in A-1, said Bryant. Staff is asking the commission for some development standards.

“It’s really unfortunate, you talk to other commissioners around the country, they have ruined ag lands between wind and solar in certain areas,” said Carl Zalak, III, commission vice chair. “They were doing wind all over in other places in Oregon, and they’ve taken out a third of the apple orchards, that makes no sense. I think what we’re saying is that we want to be really careful to make it to save our farms. That’s the bottom line, to save our farmland and not to turn them into alternative energy facilities.”

Commissioner Michelle Stone asked if the standards should include provisions for when and if the facilities cease to operate as a solar facility, and how property could be brought back to its original state.

Commissioner Matt McClain brought up that the statute lays out the requirements that they may not exceed the requirements for similar uses, and asked the question of staff, do we have any idea of what similar use this would be?

“It’s what’s allowed in agriculture today, it’s very difficult. it would be much more like a commercial type of use in ag, if you’re trying to compare it to anything in our agricultural uses today,” said Weyrauch.

Chair Bryant asked, if the county was defining something similar to this type of activity, whether it’s in agricultural zoning, or whether it’s allowed in another zoning classification, or is strictly in what’s permitted in agricultural zoning?

“I would read that as similar uses, anywhere, in any zoning classification,” said Bryant.

The standards do say similar uses are permitted in agriculture.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on this between now and our next public hearing,” said Bryant.

Height anxiety 

Commissioner Stone asked why the amendment from 30-foot to 50-foot for fly-in facilities for hangars, is even being proposed, and had reservations regarding the amendment.

The Land Development Regulation Commission were the ones that asked for that, said Weyrauch. In A-1 agricultural zoning, the building height allowance is 50 feet, and the LDRC asked that it be consistent between the two.

Typically, all of the heights that are allowed throughout agriculturally zoned areas are 50 feet, and there’s a specific restriction that’s less than that or another use that’s allowed in that regulation, said David Tillman, Marion County, land development regulation commission chair.

“It’s to cover tail heights on your airplanes,” said Tillman. “Some of those are considerably high. I remember doing one many years ago for The Villages that the tail height required that that building be something like 37 feet to be able to fit that in. One of the problems they had was when the plane was coming in at an angle, that tail is sticking up even higher into the air, so 30 feet isn’t necessarily accommodating for all types of aircraft.”

Marion County Attorney Minter clarified for the board that the flying community is separate from the airport. There are Federal Aviation Administration-permitted privately owned airports all over Marion County. A fly-in community is a residential community with people that have airplanes, and fly-in communities operate under different regulations than the airport itself.

Commissioner McClain asked if all the other buildings are allowed 50 feet, what the particular problem with the specific construction of an airplane hangar might be.

“A fly-in community is going to attract noise,” said Commissioner Stone. “A barn isn’t necessarily going to attract noise.”

The plane itself isn’t going to be limited from coming into the community; what’s being limited is the person having the ability for the person to store it within a protected cover from that airport by allowing the additional height, said Tillman.

“I’d probably want to protect my agricultural land a lot more than seeing a lot of fly-ins with all of that available to them,” said Commissioner Stone.

Changing the landscape 

The solar energy facilities were more concerning to Tillman. There wasn’t a great deal of discussion regarding the item in the LDRC meeting, and Tillman expressed personal regret over not spending more time on the topic.

“We do a lot to protect our Farmland Preservation area, and we’ve moved to put a lot more language over time in place to protect that region,” said Tillman. “And now, we’re opening up to this. There’s an area not that many miles away from my farm in Georgia, where they have stripped hundreds of acres of land and have put up solar panel after solar panel. You’d just as soon have a strip mine next to you as you have this.”

The solar energy facilities item will be brought back before the commission for its second public hearing on Dec. 2. The board expressed no desire to move forward with the airport hangar maximum height item.