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<br />Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of Thursday, April 11, 2024 <br /> <br />Acting Chair Derr called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. <br /> <br />PRESENT: Andress, Arcand, Derr, Granger, Kelly, Lessard <br /> <br />ABSENT: Kleissler, Petty <br /> <br />STAFF: Rachel Juba, Community Development Director <br />Max Gort, Associate Planner <br /> <br />Pledge of Allegiance. <br /> <br />Approval of Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of December 14, 2023 <br /> <br />Commissioner Lessard made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Andress, to approve the minutes <br />for the Planning Commission meeting of December 14, 2023. <br /> <br />All ayes. <br />Motion carried. <br /> <br />Public Hearing: Enterprise Energy, LLC – Site Plan and Interim Use Permit requests for a Solar Farm <br />located east of Everton Avenue North and north of 149th Street North <br /> <br />Associate Planner Gort presented background on the City’s process relating to the solar energy systems <br />ordinance, and the request to construct a solar farm from Enterprise Energy. T he City Council adopted <br />an ordinance allowing solar farms in certain areas of the City in 2016, and approved the first and thus <br />far only solar farm project in 2018. In 2023, the Planning Commission and City Council wanted to <br />review the ordinance due to an increasing interest in solar farm development, and related feedback <br />from the community. The City Council enacted a moratorium on solar farm applications in order to <br />study the ordinance. The Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) recommended revisions to the <br />performance standards for solar farms, which were approved by the City Council on July 24 th, 2023, <br />which repealed the moratorium. <br /> <br />Enterprise Energy submitted applications for a site plan and interim use permit (IUP) to construct a <br />solar farm on unaddressed property on Everton Avenue North. The parcel is approximately 12 acres in <br />size, is zoned Agricultural (AG) and guided in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan as Large Lot Residential <br />(LL). The property is located in an area of western Hugo that requested to remain agricultural in the <br />zoning code and not be included in the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA), making the <br />properties ineligible for municipal sewer and water services. The applicant provided a letter from a <br />septic designer stating that there were no suitable soils on site to construct a septic system, making the <br />property unavailable for a single-family home without sewer and water services. The properties to the <br />east consist of townhomes.