A nearly three-year-old legal battle over a proposed 858-acre solar power farm on North Annville Township farmland is moving to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, a statewide court that decides appeals involving governmental units.

In January, Lebanon County Common Pleas Court Judge Bradford Charles denied developer Lebanon Solar I LLC’s application for a conditional use approval under the township’s zoning ordinance. Lebanon Solar I is a subsidiary of Enel Green Power, a multinational renewable energy company.

A conditional use is approved under a zoning ordinance only if certain special conditions are satisfied. Charles got the case after Lebanon Solar 1 appealed the township supervisors’ April, 2022 denial of its application.

Lebanon Solar I appealed Charles’ decision to Commonwealth Court on Feb. 22, and North Annville Township followed with a cross-appeal on March 4. Township resident Grady Summers, an opponent of the project, participated in the county court proceedings, and has also appealed to Commonwealth Court.

Charles upheld the supervisors’ denial because he found Lebanon Solar I’s plan did not meet bonding and stormwater management requirements. But, he also rejected all the other reasons the township had cited for not approving the project, setting the stage for both parties’ appeals.

Lebanon Solar I’s application to erect hundreds of electricity-generating solar panels had drawn opposition and support from township residents and led to several well-attended and contentious hearings before township supervisors.

Some of the fears cited by opponents were declining property values, the close proximity of the panels to their homes, and loss of the township’s agricultural nature.

Supporters, including several farmers, cited ever-increasing economic challenges facing agri-business, resulting in threats to multi-generational family farms, and the fact that solar panels are less permanent and not as intrusive as the large warehouse distribution centers that have sprung up in parts of the county.

Neither the township nor Lebanon Solar I specified reasons for appealing Charles’ 40-page ruling in their respective one-page Notices of Appeal, and they are not required to do so under appellate court rules. However, each will be required to file detailed legal briefs with Commonwealth Court as the case proceeds.

Appeals to statewide appellate courts generally do not involve new trials or the introduction of new evidence. Instead, they are decided based on a review of the testimony and evidence presented to the lower court, legal briefs, oral arguments made by the parties’ attorneys, and an analysis of whether the lower court judge made legal or factual errors.

Appellate courts have a number of options in deciding an appeal, including upholding the lower court’s ruling, reversing it, or sending the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

There is no fixed timetable for deciding an appeal. The Commonwealth Court will likely set deadlines for filing legal briefs and schedule oral argument dates. It will then take the case under advisement and issue a written opinion. A decision from the commonwealth court is not likely before late 2024.

If either party is unhappy, a further appeal could be filed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

UPDATE: This story was updated on Mar. 14 at 10:35 a.m. to reflect North Annville Township resident Grady Summers’ participation in the solar farm litigation.

Read earlier N. Annville solar farm coverage

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Chris Coyle writes primarily on government, the courts, and business. He retired as an attorney at the end of 2018, after concentrating for nearly four decades on civil and criminal litigation and trials. A career highlight was successfully defending a retired Pennsylvania state trooper who was accused,...

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