History of Events
This is the list of events which led to the creation of this community team and the events which have been undertaken by the community in response to the plan to build a power generation plant near a residential neighborhood.
04-02-2018
Mohave county Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved a zoning change for a recycling plant near residences
The BOS approved a zoning change from residential to heavy manufacturing for the building of a mineral reclamation plant near residences. This mineral reclamation plant was required to be fully contained within a building and required the builder to complete the upgrades within 2 years of the zoning approval. If the improvements were not completed in 2 years, the BOS "shall schedule a public hearing to grant an extension, determine compliance with the schedule for development, or cause the property to revert to its former zoning classification". (BOS resolution 2018-041)
04-02-2020
BOS resolution 2018-041 expires
The construction of the mineral reclamation plant did not start and the land remained unimproved. No action was taken by the BOS.
10-xx-2023
Mohave Electric Company (MEC) applied for a modification to the expired recycling plant zoning for an "energy facility"
The MEC application to the BOS was a modification of the mineral reclamation plant application to remove the requirement for the mineral reclamation plant and to increase the expiration date. The modified application was for an energy facility to be located near an existing solar panel field. It seemed entirely reasonable at the time (by BOS members and local residents) to assume that this would be an extension of the solar panel field. (MEC application)
11-08-2023
Mohave county Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Commission approval of MEC zoning change application
The minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission provide the details of the discussion of the zoning application. There was no discussion of the fact that the prior zoning change had expired and that the requirement for an open meeting to consider the options in the original application had not occurred. The recommendation from the commission stated that the area does not contain similar uses. The recommendation requires the project to start within one year. This meeting is the first time that the energy facility will be a quick start natural gas turbine and not a solar plant. In our community team's later discussions with the P&Z staff, we learned that this change was recommended "because it was already zoned for Heavy Industrial". (Agenda item 2)
12-04-2023
BOS approval of MEC zoning change
We local residents near the site in question for the "power facility" did not understand the agenda for the BOS meeting and did not attend the meeting in force. At the meeting, many MEC employees spoke as regular citizens (they did not identify themselves as MEC employees or supporting contractors) to the BOS in favor of the zoning change. Due to little resistance from we residents, the BOS approved the zoning change. The BOS process that was required by the expiration of the original zoning change was not followed. The resolution now states that there are similar uses at the site. The discussion of this resolution occurs in the meeting minutes for Item 9, starting on page 22. This is a long discussion in the meeting minutes. (BOS resolution 2023-223)
1-18-2024
Letter to AZ Attorney General
We are requesting your intervention on the illegal and unethical business practices of the Mohave County Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission and Board of Supervisors (BOS) related to the rezoning of Assessor Parcel 221-35-024 in Fort Mohave that presents significant public health and safety concerns.
2-12-2024
MEC Town Hall Meeting
Mohave Electric Cooperative (MEC) hosted a town hall meeting at the Los Lagos meeting room. The meeting started with a MEC executive introduction, J Tyler Carlson the Chief Executive Officer of MEC, then the meeting was turned over to Patrick Ledger, chief executive officer for Arizona G&T Cooperatives, who is the manager of the power plant project. We learned that these peaker plants come in pairs of units (2 turbines). We learned that there could be as many as 4 turbines at some future time. We also learned that 2 sites are under consideration, the current site, called Site A, and another site a few hundred yards farther north, called Site B. Site B is not currently zoned for this project. We learned that the power from this site will be added to the collective's power grid so power can be sent to members who need power. See the link to AEPCO power users for a map to Nevada, California, and southern Arizona power users.
2-13-2024
Briefing to AEPCO and MEC management
Mac provided a briefing to the power plant team just after they had their town hall meeting. We reiterated our agreement with the need for additional power, but we did not agree with the location they have chosen. These charts provide the details of the invalid process used by MEC and the Board of Supervisors to approve the current zoning of Heavy Industrial.