photo by: Adobe Stock

Aerial drone view of solar panels at a solar energy generation farm at Sunset in South Wales, UK

A Douglas County judge said Grant Township may pursue records from planning commissioners through subpoenas as part of its lawsuit against Douglas County regarding its approval of a planned commercial solar farm.

Thursday’s ruling came amid a dispute between the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — Grant Township, neighbors and businesses who object to the Kansas Sky Energy Center — and county commissioners, who are defendants in the lawsuit. Plaintiffs have argued the county hasn’t turned over all required records needed for the lawsuit, and Thursday’s ruling gives the plaintiffs another opportunity to get the records.

Officials with the township, which would be home to the solar project, wanted to obtain records from Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commissioners, arguing that despite a prior court order requiring Douglas County to produce certain materials, the county continues to provide incomplete and inadequate responses. Specifically the plaintiffs contend emails and text messages between Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners have not been properly turned over.

Quentin Templeton, an attorney representing Grant Township, said he thought the plaintiffs have to have these records for the case to proceed.

Meanwhile, Douglas County argued that county commissioners and planning commissioners are in different areas of government. The Planning Commission has half of the commissioners appointed by the county with the other half appointed by the City of Lawrence. Crystal Moe, an attorney representing the Douglas County commissioners, said she “doesn’t see how that would move the needle for the plaintiffs case.”

However, Douglas County Judge James McCabria said the planning commissioners are the ones who make recommendations to the decision-makers, the county commissioners.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Crystal Moe, an attorney representing Douglas County, and Quentin Templeton, an attorney representing Grant Township, are pictured on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Grant Township, alongside affected property owners and local associations, are suing Douglas County over its approval of the Kansas Sky Energy Center – a massive 159-megawatt solar farm planned for farm fields near the Midland Junction area of northern Douglas County. The lawsuit was filed in 2024, and currently a temporary injunction is in place halting construction. The trial is currently scheduled to begin at the end of November, at the earliest.

Because planning commissioners were not listed as parties in the lawsuit, on Thursday, Douglas County Judge James McCabria directed both parties to follow the statutory subpoena process before seeking records from planning commissioners.

The court must allow a 14-day notice and objection period for the county outlined in Kansas statute before subpoenas can be issued. If the county decides not to object, attorneys can notify the plaintiffs sooner so the subpoenas can be sent out sooner.

Another question that was discussed on Thursday was whether or not the Planning Commission was subject to the Kansas Open Records Act and the Kansas Open Meetings Act. Grant Township has said in court filings that it is subject to both, and McCabria agreed on Thursday.

The plaintiffs have pointed to a “Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission Commissioner Orientation” packet in a June court filing, where commissioners received a 1-hour training session on KOMA and KORA.

While the county has not disputed that the Planning Commission is subject to KORA, the county’s obligations under the rules of discovery are not comparable to its duties under KORA.

“Plaintiffs’ effort to confuse records that may be available under KORA with discovery requirements is a red herring,” a June court filing from the county said. ” … If Douglas County received a KORA request for records ‘made, maintained or kept by or in the possession of” the Lawrence/Douglas County Planning Commission, the County would request each appointee provide responsive KORA records (including emails, texts, and documents).'”

Since the project has not been able to proceed with the ongoing litigation, as the Journal-World reported, county commissioners voted to extend the Kansas Sky Energy Center’s conditional use permit by one year. The extension set a new expiration date of April 13, 2027, and Douglas County zoning regulations do not allow additional extensions to be considered.

The next court appearance is a status conference scheduled on Aug. 11 at 11 a.m.