Community Assessment
Name
Timeline
Project Type
Size
Location
Landowners
Land Use
County Profile
Franklin and Williamson counties are located about 90 miles southeast of St. Louis in an area of southern Illinois with a long history of coal mining. The town of West Franklin lies just to the west of the project along I-57. The counties are moderately populated with a combined population of about 100,000 residents. They are heavily Republican and dominated by agricultural uses.
Permitting
Neither county has a solar ordinance. Permits are issued by the County Engineer following a review by the Supervisor of Assessments.
Strategy
The absence of meaningful zoning restrictions indicates that private property rights rule the land. Landowners, therefore, will be our strongest advocates. Neighbor-to-neighbor relations are paramount, and our communications strategy must be hyper-local with messaging sensitive to the fact that residents are likely to be pro-coal and unhappy with how the phase out of coal has impacted the economy.
Priority Stakeholders
Following communications with anchor landowners, build relationships with key leaders in West Franklin (the school superintendent and Chamber of Commerce) and Johnston City (the school superintendent) to help inform initial conversations with County Commissioners. Demonstrate to the Supervisors of Assessments and County Engineers that we have done our due diligence.
