Residents of Ellsworth Township received a letter in the mail notifying them of an upcoming hearing on October 2nd for the Board of Zoning to decide the fate of a potential solar facility.

"Previous to today we had no regulations for it at all," Robert Toman, Ellsworth Township Trustee Chairman said.

This is why trustees are voting Monday night in their second hearing on solar energy for the township as a whole, to accept, reject or modify new regulations.

"It regards setbacks, height restrictions, property restrictions on where it can be and how it can be installed," Toman said.

However, for this specific project waiting to be approved by the Board of Zoning in October, whatever new regulations are voted on will not apply.

"He's applying under our old regulations which were slim to non-existent to put in this solar facility," Toman said.

That means any regulations for this solar facility would come down to the discretion of the zoning board if they choose to approve the project. The facility would cover about three to four acres of land right across the street from Ellsworth Cemetery.

"It'll cover about 10,000 panels and will be at the rear of the property," Wayne Sarna, Zoning Inspector said.

Concerns over the facility are being raised from safety to quality of life by people who live in very close proximity to the site.

"I'm concerned about the ground water here, we're on a well, I don't want our well contaminated. I'm worried about contamination to our pond, I'm worried about the wild life here, we're just starting to get bald eagles showing up around here. I'm concerned about fires, I've been told solar panels don't catch on fire but they do," said a resident of Ellsworth Township who asked to remain anonymous. "They have a right to do what they want with their property, but is it at the cost to the residents," she said.

Sarna said residents can bring their concerns to the October 2nd Board of Zoning hearing at 6:30pm, before a decision is voted on.

The property owner, Lee Sandstrom, responded to these concerns saying the solar facility will be 600 feet back from the road so it won't be seen and that they will maintain and manage the facility as needed.