Commission to Hear Proposed Solar Ordinance for Land Use
Commission to Hear Proposed Solar Ordinance for Land Use
The Grant County Commission is slated to hear the second reading of Ordinance 2020-01A, an addition to the county’s land use ordinance, in the Tuesday, July 7, meeting of the board. If approved, the ordinance will establish the process and guidelines that private individuals and businesses will need to abide by if they wish to construct a solar energy system (SES).
The Planning and Zoning Board has worked through the process of writing the ordinance and has gone through the public hearing phase without receiving much public feedback. On Tuesday, the commission may vote to accept the ordinance in its entirety or send it back to the Planning and Zoning Board for consideration of suggested revisions.
According to Krista Atyeo-Gortmaker, Grant County planning and zoning administrator, she is not aware of any companies considering the construction of an SES in Grant County. She and Karen Layher, Grant County auditor, both say the commission is proactive in establishing the solar portion of the land use ordinance.
The purpose of the proposed solar land use ordinance is to facilitate the construction, installation, operation and decommission of SES in a manner that promotes economic development and ensures the protection of health, safety and welfare. The regulations are not intended to impede personal or business solar collector development for the primary use of self-sustaining energy.
The document outlines the requirement for private systems for on-site consumption of the power. Before constructing personal systems, residents must apply for conditional use permits (CUPs). The application includes the need for a site plan, location map, easements, screens and buffers, fencing, drainage plan and erosion control, weed and grass control, decommission plan and other items.
The ordinance states that all SES are subject to the State of South Dakota stormwater management regulations, erosion and sediment control provisions and the national pollutant discharge elimination system permit requirements, if applicable.
The guidelines for general (commercial) SES also require permitting and have a lengthy list of requirements. The areas addressed in the ordinance include ground cover and buffer areas, power and communication lines, separation distances and setbacks, aviation and airport protection, glare, safety fencing/gates and locks, maximum height, lighting, outdoor storage, weed and grass control, roads, signs and permit expiration.
A section of the ordinance deals with the decommissioning, restoration and abandonment of the general SES.
The proposed ordinance can be read in its entirety at www.grantcounty.sd.gov.
~Holli Seehafer
Category:
Grant County Review
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