YORKVILLE – The city of Yorkville is considering a developer’s plan to construct a solar farm on unincorporated land on the community’s far northwest side.

The 5-megawatt alternating current freestanding solar farm would be located on an 18.5-acre site east of Beecher Road along the north side of the BNSF Railroad.

The petitioner is C. Dean Smith on behalf of New Leaf Energy, doing business as Beecher Solar 1 LLC.

New Leaf seeks to lease a total about 48 acres of agricultural land on both sides of the tracks from the Robert M. & Ildefonsa Loftus Living Trust.

The land, now used for row crops, would be annexed into the city and rezoned under a special agricultural designation that permits solar farms, Community Development Director Kristi Barksdale-Noble said.

“This zoning classification would also permit the continued farm use on the remainder of the annexed land,” Barksdale-Noble said.

The project will consist of about 9,700 solar panel arrays with supporting equipment, including two electrical transformers.

New Leaf Energy is to enter a 20-year lease with the property owner to operate the solar farm. The lease also has an option to extend the term for up to four additional and successive periods of five years each.

The developer is not seeking any tax breaks or other financial incentives, City Administrator Bart Olson said.

The city’s 2016 comprehensive plan designates the future land use for the property as a Metra Station and transit-oriented development.

This designation would involve a mix of single-family, townhomes and apartment buildings, along with small-scale neighborhood retail to create an urban center to support a commuter train service.

City officials said the solar farm would be a less intensive land use than a train station and transit-oriented development.

The Yorkville City Council conducted a public hearing on the project Feb. 14. Aldermen continued the hearing to March 28, after which they are expected to vote on the proposal.