photo by: Screenshot of Douglas County Commission meeting

The Douglas County Commission held a hearing to determine whether to incorporate a new city, Clearfield, Wednesday, June 15.

Douglas County won’t be adding a new city within its borders for now, after the Douglas County Commission denied a petition to incorporate the proposed City of Clearfield following a three-hour public hearing on Wednesday night.

The commission cited a few chief concerns as reasons for that decision. Among them were that there was no concrete plan for how to provide city government services and that the 18-square-mile boundary proposed for the community — which would have made Clearfield roughly the 13th-largest city in the state by land area covered — might have a maximum population density of only dozens of people per square mile.

“It is evident to me that it is a very singular-focused intention with some ideological ideas that perhaps resonate with a number of other folks, but that does not account for the very necessary and specific tangible services, regulations, taxation, all of the things that have been commented on this evening, that commissioners touched on in their questions with the petitioner at the beginning of this,” Commissioner Shannon Reid said. “I think that overall, there are a lot of unanswered questions about what a city would look like and how it would function if it were to be incorporated.”

That was after commissioners listened to 30 public comments in the space of more than an hour, along with testimony from the petitioner, Carrie Brandon, and a representative from one city, Eudora, that would have been Clearfield’s close neighbor. Eudora City Manager Barack Matite told commissioners that if a new city were incorporated so close to Eudora’s boundaries, it would limit Eudora’s ability to expand.

Brandon, the City of Clearfield Committee chair who headed the petition process, stood before the commission to explain why those who had signed the petition wanted to incorporate in the first place and answer questions about how feasible creating the new city would be.

Brandon also explicitly confirmed during her presentation that one of the reasons the group wished to incorporate was to stop a potential utility-scale solar energy development from Florida-based energy firm NextEra. The firm has expressed interest in developing a 3,000-acre solar farm, part of which would be located in the same area of southeastern Douglas County that Clearfield was proposing to locate in. Brandon said the group was concerned by the “long-term implications” of projects of that size, and how they could open the door for wide-ranging industrial development.

But Commissioner Patrick Kelly, in his remarks toward the end of the hearing, reminded the public that no proposal from NextEra or any other developer is under consideration at this time to begin with.

“There have been solar regulations that have been passed, but we do not have an active solar project in front of this commission at this time,” Kelly said. “Process is really important. We had a process — a thorough process — in developing those solar regulations that both sides, in their discussion with the commission and with the planning commission, shared was thorough, was extensive.”

The vast majority of the 30 public comments offered at Wednesday’s hearing were opposed to the new city. Many commenters said they thought the effort to incorporate Clearfield was simply an effort to stop any future industrial development in the area, specifically any proposed developments from NextEra.

Others claimed they didn’t learn that they would be part of the proposed city until they received notice from the county about Wednesday’s hearing.

“You’ve treated me like a faceless portion of a potential tax base and not like your living, breathing neighbor,” said Dave Moore, one commenter opposed to the city.

Others voiced concern about how they would lose county services without any planned alternatives and could eventually see higher taxes, even if the petitioner asserted that more levies wouldn’t be imposed.