The ban on industrial solar projects remains in place throughout portions of Richland County.
Voters on May 5 rejected a referendum on the matter with a vote of 12,189 (52.90%) in favor of the ban and 10,853 (47.10%) against, according to final unofficial results from the Richland County Board of Elections.
Morgan Carroll, a volunteer organizer for the “No Ban on Property Rights” initiative, called the result “disappointing,” but said, “it does not diminish what this campaign has achieved.”
“As a group of your Richland County neighbors, we made a commitment to stand up to our elected officials and forced a countywide conversation about property rights and government overreach,” Carroll said. “We did it with integrity, with passion and with a deep love for our community. That’s not nothing. That is everything.”
Richland County’s primary results will be certified 10 a.m. May 14, according to Matt Finfgeld, director of the Richland County Board of Elections.
‘We are proud of this campaign’
In July 2025, commissioners voted to prohibit the construction of industrial solar fields in unincorporated areas of 11 townships: Bloominggrove, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Mifflin, Monroe, Perry, Plymouth, Sharon, Troy and Weller.
Such projects remained legal in the county’s other townships, as well as all incorporated areas (like cities and villages).
The referendum, had it succeeded with enough “no” votes, would have removed the ban and allowed industrial solar projects throughout the entire county.
“We are proud of this campaign and everyone who was part of it,” Carroll said. “We thank all those who joined us in the No Ban effort, whether you made a call, knocked on a door, wrote a letter or just showed up to vote ‘no.'”
‘We will not be silenced’
Opponents of the ban felt the movement to block industrial solar fields in portions of Richland County was driven by interests from oil and gas companies.
“Yesterday, we received the time-stamped receipts to prove it,” Carroll said. “We saw firsthand the conversations between county commissioners and political operatives from the natural gas industry congratulating and thanking each other for their ‘mission accomplished.'”
Volunteers with the No Ban on Property Rights campaign say they remain dedicated to protecting the best interest of residents and “restoring a fair process.”
“The question of who gets to decide what happens on private land in Richland County did not end tonight,” Carroll said. “We will continue to stand with farmers and landowners who believe that right belongs to them, not to their government and certainly not to the fossil fuel industry. We will not be silenced by those who chose to ignore our voices.”
Contact Zach Tuggle at 419-564-3508. Follow him on X at @zachtuggle.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Solar ban remains for parts of Richland County after referendum fails
Reporting by Zach Tuggle, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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