Residents are appealing the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission’s decision to approve First Solar’s proposed 550-megawatt solar project in the Carrizo Plains.

On April 14, planning commissioners accepted the company’s proposal to build a utility-grade solar facility in the area, which has hit opposition from people concerned with impacts to sensitive species in the remote valley on the eastern border of SLO County.

Three appeals were filed by Judy Stegman, Michael Strobridge, and the Center for Biological Diversity, North County Watch, and Carrizo Commons. A hearing has been scheduled with the Board of Supervisors for July 12.

However, county supervisors on April 19 overrode an appeal filed against SunPower’s 250-megawatt solar project, also proposed in the Carrizo Plains. That decision has since gone to litigation over allegations that county officials didn’t abide by the California Environmental Quality Act.