Adair County, IA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)

Section 4(1) of Ordinance No. 38, passed May 5, 2021, applies to all Utility Scale Solar Energy Systems and to any upgrades to existing solar energy systems in the unincorporated areas of Adair County. The setbacks are measured from the edge of the solar panels and equipment, and the ordinance excludes underground facilities such as cable, as well as fencing, from that measurement. The table lists five protected areas: an occupied residence at 1,000 feet, any non-participating parcel at 250 feet from the property line, a public road right of way at 50 feet, public road intersections at a radius of 150 feet from the center of the intersection, and public airports at 5 miles from the property line.

The ordinance defines an occupied residence as a house, apartment or other structure designed for residential use that is the abode of a person, family or household and is regularly occupied. A non-participating landowner is one who has not signed a binding agreement with the applicant, developer or owner of the project, while a participating landowner has signed one. A property line is the legal boundary between separately owned parcels and between privately owned parcels and publicly owned land or public right of way. Setback itself is defined as the minimum required distance from a certain object, structure or point to the edge of any part or component of the US-SES.

Participating and non-participating landowners can sign a waiver consenting to placement closer than these distances. The setback measurements are also a required part of the permit application: the site plan under Section 3 must show setback measurements between the fencing, solar panels and equipment closest to the protected areas and all applicable property lines, occupied residences, road right of ways, intersections and airports, again excluding underground facilities such as cable. Ordinance No. 38 applies to solar power plants and solar farms, not to small-scale panels installed for private use at individual residential or commercial locations.