P&Z: Manhattan Township Solar Farm Gets 36-Inch Ground Cover Variance

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission | October 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, approved a variance allowing ground cover vegetation up to 36 inches tall at a proposed commercial solar facility and battery storage project on West Baker Road in Manhattan Township — the final piece of a zoning case whose other components were decided Sept. 15.

Stillwater Solar Variance Key Points:

• The variance raises the maximum ground cover plant height from 13 inches to 36 inches in portions of the site at 15520 W. Baker Road.
• The request came back before the commission because it was omitted from the Sept. 15 agenda and could not legally be voted on then.
• The Manhattan Township Fire Protection District objected to the variance request; a separate condition requires the district’s final review and approval before construction.
• The applicant has committed to a 100-foot setback along the adjacent avenue maintained at 12 inches or less.

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, approved a variance letting native vegetation grow to 36 inches at a planned solar facility in Manhattan Township, closing out a zoning case left one vote short three weeks earlier.

Planner Jesus Briseno told the commission the full case — a special use permit for a commercial solar energy facility, a special use permit for a battery energy storage facility, and variances for the number of required mowings and for maximum ground cover plant height — was heard at the commission’s Sept. 15 meeting. The ground cover variance, however, was not included on that agenda and therefore could not be voted on, so it returned Tuesday as the only outstanding item. The owner of record is Summer Das, with Angela Feria of Cultivate Power, doing business as Stillwater Solar LLC, as agent and Benjamin Jacobi of Polsinelli as attorney.

Briseno said the state encourages commercial solar facilities to use pollinator-friendly plant species native to Illinois, and that those species “need to grow higher than 13 inches” to establish effectively. The applicant submitted a preliminary operations and maintenance plan outlining how mowing would be handled, and staff will require a final version at the time of permitting. Staff recommended approval.

Briseno also flagged an objection. As part of the original zoning case, he said, staff received comments from the Manhattan Township Fire Protection District “stating their objection to the variance request,” with the district’s full comments included in a memo circulated to the commission.

Feria, presenting for Stillwater Solar with a short slide presentation, framed the request narrowly. “Tonight we are here with one narrow request, which is to allow the flexibility to allow our ground cover vegetation to grow up to 36 inches in portions of the proposed solar facility,” she said.

She said native pollinator and prairie species naturally exceed the county’s 13-inch threshold, and that the planting approach responds directly to outside recommendations — from the Will County Forest Preserve, which she said recommended following Illinois Department of Natural Resources solar pollinator-friendly guidelines; from Manhattan Township, which she said issued a resolution on solar recommending native species; and from the Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District. Among the species in the submitted landscape plan, she named purple coneflower, goldenrod and smooth blue aster.

The vegetation reduces soil erosion, supports stormwater infiltration, maintains soil health and provides pollinator habitat, Feria said.

She emphasized two limits. The taller vegetation would not cover the whole site: “We’re not asking for a 36-inch maximum height vegetation in the entire site,” she said. In response to the township, and as a condition of the special use permit, the company agreed to maintain a 100-foot setback from the adjacent avenue — the area closest to the public right of way — at a 12-inch maximum vegetation height, with the taller plantings confined to an open area and the solar array area “far from visibility from the public right of way.” And the 36 inches is a ceiling, not a target. “This variance is really to allow us flexibility to plant native species, but it does not sanction or even authorize uncontrolled vegetation,” she said.

Feria said the commission has approved similar ground cover variances repeatedly, including two in 2026 and more in 2025 and 2024, among them two other Cultivate Power projects in the county. She also told commissioners the company would prioritize hiring local landscapers.

Asked whether the company plants seeds or established plants, Feria said seeds, with a cover crop planted while the seed mix establishes over a period of a few months. She said the cover crop depends on the site and would be coordinated with the soil and water conservation district, which has recommended wheat, rye or oats on previous projects.

On the fire district’s comments, one commissioner said the district was looking for a condition of final review and approval prior to construction. Briseno confirmed staff had added that as a condition to the special use permit for the commercial solar facility. The commissioner said the district’s objection to vegetation height appeared to turn on access to disconnects, “which I can’t imagine anybody would let that happen at the site.”

Feria said the company met with the fire district after receiving the feedback and that a non-combustible gravel buffer surrounds the battery storage equipment, with no vegetation planted there.

No objectors or concerned citizens appeared. The commission approved the variance on a roll call the chair announced as approved. The site is identified in county records as PIN 14-12-05-400-004-0000.