2025.02.03 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memorandum To: Bryan Bear, City Administrator From: Max Gort, Associate Planner Date: January 30, 2025, for the City Council meeting of February 3, 2025 Re: Unfinished Business – Update on Solar Ordinance 1.BACKGROUND: In 2016, the City Council adopted an ordinance regulating the use of solar energy systems. The ordinance includes rules for accessory solar energy systems, which provide solar energy for on - site use and are accessory to the primary use of the property, and solar farms, which distribute solar energy to off-site consumers and are the primary use of the property. Solar farms are currently permitted in the AG, LA, RR, and FUS zoning districts, all other zoning districts only in the floodplain, and on parcels greater than 10 acres in size. Additionally, solar farms require an Interim Use Permit (IUP), and have specific performance standards and criteria of approval. The first solar farm project was approved in 2018, which drew negative feedback from the community related to aesthetic characteristics and setbacks from property lines. In 2023, the Planning Commission and City Council amended the ordinance due to an increased interest in solar farm development and related feedb ack from the community. The Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) convened to draft revisions to the ordinance, which included: •An increase in minimum setbacks from property lines from 50 feet to 100 feet •A minimum setback from public rights-of-way and dwellings on adjacent property to 200 feet •A limit of the size of the solar array to five acres •A requirement that trees at least 6 feet tall at the time of planting be provided for screening •A requirement that solar farm applications include a vegetation establi shment and management plan •A requirement that ground areas within the solar array not occupied by equipment be planted with deep-rooted, native, pollinator-friendly plantings The ORC’s revisions were adopted by the City Council on July 24, 2023. With the new ordinance in effect, the City received an application for a solar farm on a vacant 12 -acre property on Everton Avenue. During the public hearing at the April 11, 2024 Planning Commission meeting, several neighbors spoke in opposition to the project, primarily with concerns that the proposed solar farm would not be compatible with the present character of the surrounding area. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the solar farm IUP, but the City Council denied it, due to the character of the area case made by the neighbors. Following the denial of the Everton Avenue solar farm project, the City Council directed staff to draft a text amendment that would prohibit solar farms. At its July 11, 2024 meeting the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the text amendment. There were 4 people who I.3