Litchfield Takes Control of Elm Lawn Solar, Scuttling May 27 County Hearing

Montgomery County Board Development & Personnel Committee Meeting | June 1, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board Development & Personnel Committee on June 1 reviewed a May 14 email from Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti stating that Litchfield had decided to exercise its supervisory authority over the Elm Lawn Solar project. A public hearing scheduled for May 27 was subsequently cancelled.

Elm Lawn Solar Key Points:

• Affrunti’s May 14 email stated Litchfield had decided to exercise its supervisory authority over the project.
• The public hearing scheduled for May 27 was subsequently cancelled.
• The committee reviewed the email; no motion or vote was recorded on the item.
• The minutes do not describe the project’s size, location or applicant.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The City of Litchfield’s decision to assert authority over the Elm Lawn Solar project has taken the matter out of the county’s May hearing calendar, the Montgomery County Board Development & Personnel Committee learned on Monday, June 1, 2026.

The committee reviewed a May 14 email from Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti stating that Litchfield had decided to exercise its supervisory authority over the project. The public hearing scheduled for May 27 was subsequently cancelled.

No motion was made and no vote was taken. The item was listed on the agenda as an update.

What the Minutes Do Not Say

The record contains no description of the Elm Lawn Solar project — no acreage, no location beyond the implication of proximity to Litchfield, no applicant or developer name, and no capacity figure. It does not state what body had scheduled the May 27 hearing, what the hearing was to consider, or whether the county retains any role in reviewing the project going forward. It does not indicate whether the hearing will be rescheduled or by whom.

The email is dated May 14 and the hearing was cancelled thereafter; the committee’s review of the email on June 1 came more than two weeks after it was sent.

Renewables Across the Agenda

Elm Lawn Solar was one of three renewable energy items before the committee on June 1. The committee recommended approval of an engagement agreement with the law firm Heyl Royster for wind and solar ordinance review, at $200 to $400 an hour, and heard an update on the Shoals Renewables project in which County Clerk Sandy Leitheiser reported no land agent names had been registered in her office under the county’s Code of Conduct Resolution.

Affrunti did not attend the meeting; his email was the source before the committee. State’s Attorney Brian Shaw was present and participated in the Shoals Renewables discussion.

The committee adjourned at 6:15 p.m.