Sell 4 Free Real Estate
Crossvine Solar Project Dies On Appeal to Huntingburg BZA
A two-year deadline, missing permits, and a new solar moratorium fueled a tense hearing
before the Huntingburg Board of Zoning Appeals.
The Board heard an appeal from Crossvine Solar regarding the expiration of their previously
approved development plan. Phil Schneider, Attorney for the City of Huntingburg, represented
the BZA in the procedural aspects of the hearing. Crossvine and the City of Huntingburg were
represented by separate counsel.
The hearing was requested by Crossvine Solar, LLC, to appeal the Huntingburg Zoning
Administrator’s determination dated December 2, 2025 regarding the following two concerns.
The first issue was the determination that Crossvine’s commercial solar energy system
development plan approval expired by operation of the City’s Unified Development Ordinance
(UDO) for failure to obtain all the applicable permits and commence construction within two
years after approval. The second was the implementation by the administrator of the
November 25, 2025 Huntingburg Common Council legislative directive declaring a moratorium
on consideration of any new, revised, or resubmitted development plans for commercial solar
energy systems, pending the Plan Commission’s and the Council’s opportunity to review, revise,
and update development standards.
The BZA’s role for the evening was defined as listening to and reviewing relevant evidence and
testimony presented at the hearing and determining whether or not the zoning administrator
correctly applied the relevant provisions of the UDO regarding the expiration of the
development plan and whether he correctly implemented the Council’s legislative declaring a
moratorium on new, revised, or resubmitted commercial solar development plans.
The petitioner, Crossvine Solar, presented their case, with a particular focus on how to
determine the status of construction. They said that, by industry standards, Crossvine had
constructed and they also claimed that Dubois County acknowledged that they had begun
construction. The petitioner also took issue with the Administrator’s letter that listed specific
permits needed to commence construction rather than saying “all applicable permits” as listed
in the statute. Crossvine insisted that they had met the requirements for the two-year timeline
as defined by their industry.
Counsel for the City of Huntingburg refuted these claims, reviewing the appliable areas of the
city’s UDO. Zoning Administrator Paul Lake answered clarifying questions regarding the UDO as
well as the development plan approved on August 7, 2023. Lake also confirmed the contents of
the December 2, 2025 Revocation of the Development Plan sent to Crossvine after the August
7, 2025 expiration of the plan. This notification was described as the basis for Crossvine’s
appeal. Counsel confirmed with Lake that, as of December 2, 2025, Crossvine had not obtained
an Improvement Location Permit (ILP). Lake confirmed that, as of that date, Crossvine had also
not commenced any permit-authorized, on-site construction.
The Board adopted the recommended rules for public comment, which required speakers to
identify themselves and their place of residence. Comments were limited to 3 minutes of
factual, relevant comments, without repetition of prior comments. Speakers were also directed
not to comment on the merits or adverse affects of the project itself, unless directly affecting
the appealed issues of expiration of the development plan or the moratorium.
In public comments, one Huntingburg resident noted that Crossvine hosted a community
meeting on November 13, 2025. A poster (of which she had a photo) displayed a project
timeline for development that listed “2026 – Construction, Engineering Design, Grid
Interconnection Approval.” At this point, she said, the development plan would already have
become void as construction had yet to begin. Residents living adjacent to the field in question
also confirmed that there had been “absolutely zero” construction in the last two years.
Crossvine provided invoices to document what they described as offsite construction in their
rebuttal, claiming that this is common practice to minimize disruption to the community and
that an ILP permit would not yet be required. Counsel cross-examined Lake, putting forward
specific questions about the necessity of an ILP and asking, “So how do you believe you have
the authority then to make up what the UDO doesn’t say? And that is that an applicable permit,
in this instance, is an ILP?” Lake responded, “I don’t think I’ve made up anything. I think
standard practice in the industry, if you look at what some of the state statues say regarding
the initiation of construction or redevelopment, make it pretty clear that I’m not making
anything up.”
Board members also pushed back strenuously at Crossvine’s characterization that the UDO is
unclear. They noted that counsel appeared before the BZA in July of 2023 to request a variance
for the project and could have asked for clarification at that time. The City’s counsel also
pointed to excerpts from the City’s UDO, where a highlighted provision read, “An ILP is required
prior to the construction of a solar energy system.” He pointed out that Crossvine claimed to
have started construction without an ILP because it was not yet needed. He continued, “No
matter how you look at it, they’re not following the UDO. They violated it, it’s not there… Either
construction hasn’t begun and they missed the two-year window, or it has begun and they
didn’t get the ILP as it was required.”
The Board decided to vote on each item separately. There was an objection from Crossvine that
the Board determined there was enough information to vote without lengthy deliberation or
explanation from each member to justify their vote. The objection was noted in the record. The
Board continued, unanimously affirming Lake’s determination that the development plan with
Crossvine has expired. They also unanimously voted to affirm the Council’s moratorium.
For more information on these and other updates, visit www.huntingburg-in.gov
- By Drew Hasselbring