Laserfiche WebLink
<br />2. Ground-mount solar energy systems: Systems which are accessory to the principal use and designed to supply <br />energy for the principal use. Ground-mount systems shall be regulated as follows: <br /> <br />a) Ground-mount systems are permitted accessory uses in all districts in which <br /> buildings and structures are permitted. <br />b) Ground-mount systems require a Solar Site Permit and a Building Permit. <br />c) Ground-mount systems shall be subject to the accessory use standards for the district <br /> in which they are located, including dimensional standards, such as yard setbacks. <br />c) The height of ground-mounted components shall not exceed 10 feet. <br />e) No ground-mounted solar energy system shall cover or encompass more than 10 percent <br /> of the total property area or lot size. <br /> <br />3. Community Solar Energy Systems (Solar Gardens/CSES): Roof or ground-mount CSES’s designed to <br />supply energy for off-site users on the distribution grid (but not for export to the wholesale market or connection to <br />the electric transmission grid) shall be allowed as a principal or accessory permitted use, in all districts unless otherwise <br />regulated or prohibited in this section: <br /> <br />a) Community Solar Energy Systems shall be located on parcels of land no less than five acres <br /> in size. <br /> <br />b) Ground Mount CSES’s which are sited upon a contiguous or aggregate site area footprint <br />larger than 20 acres in size (whether commonly owned/controlled or not-so owned or operated) shall <br />require a Conditional Use Permit, in accordance with Section E. Conditional Use Permit Requirements. <br />The site area footprint size shall be computed by a determination of the Zoning Administrator. <br /> <br />c) Prohibited Districts: The County prohibits CSES’s within the following districts: <br /> <br />1) Shoreland Districts as designated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) <br /> and the Chisago County Shoreland Management Ordinance; <br /> 2) Within Six Hundred (600) feet of areas designated or formally protected from <br /> development by Federal, State or County agencies as wildlife habitat, wildlife <br /> management areas or designated as National Wild and Scenic land or corridor; <br /> 3) Wetlands, to the extent prohibited by the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act; <br /> 4) The Floodplain District. <br /> <br />d) All CSES’s and CSES components must meet the setback, height and coverage limitations <br /> for the district in which the system is located. <br /> <br />e) CSES’s shall require a Solar Site Permit and a building permit, and are subject to the accessory use <br /> standards for the district in which they are located. <br /> <br />f) Power and communication lines. All on-site power and communication lines running between <br /> banks of solar panels and buildings shall be buried underground on premise. The Zoning <br /> Administrator may grant exemptions to this requirement in instances where shallow <br /> bedrock, water courses or other elements of the natural landscape interfere with the ability <br /> to bury lines. <br /> <br />g) Decommissioning Plan: The owner/operator shall submit a decommissioning plan for