Worthington Planning Board readies questions for Blue Wave ahead of May 28 solar hearing

WORTHINGTON — May 5, 2026 — Worthington Planning Board prepares wide-ranging technical questions for solar developer Blue Wave ahead of a May 28 public hearing. The board spent its May 5 meeting in a working session with PARE engineer Chris Nolan, directing him to produce a formal technical memorandum covering bedrock fracturing from pile installation, tracker wind tolerances, acoustic impacts from single-axis tracking motors, stormwater pollution prevention, and emergency management planning. Nolan confirmed the project proceeds under site plan review rather than a special permit, limiting some of the board's regulatory leverage, though he said the portion of the site within the town's water surface protection district is subject to stricter special permit standards — a split the board's own bylaw handles ambiguously, with a town counsel clarification still pending after more than a month. The board also voted to send the Board of Health letter and a January 4 water operator letter to Blue Wave immediately, requesting formal responses, and asked the town's fire chief to reformat his detailed safety report as a numbered question list. Nolan told members that Blue Wave's emergency management submissions to date amount to "platitudes" and urged the fire chief to sit down with the developer to produce a substantive draft plan before any approval is issued.