Community members pack Armory Civic Center for Solar Listening Session

People on both sides of the debate over solar farm size expansion packed the Warren County Armory Civic Center on Thursday, Oct. 30, for a community listening session conducted by the Board of County Commissioners that continued for three hours.

The discussion continues as design, engineering and consulting firm Stewart works with the Warren County Code Update Committee to draft a Unified Development Ordinance designed to update existing ordinances and to address examples of development which are becoming more prevalent today. Ultimately, the Unified Development Ordinance will combine all ordinances related to everything from subdivisions to solar farms and other forms of development into one document.

The county’s current zoning regulations regarding solar farms, updated a few years ago, set the maximum size of solar farms at 150 acres and state that installations between 50 and 150 acres must have a separation of five miles.

Stewart presented a draft of what will be proposed to the Unified Development Committee to address solar farms, battery storage and data centers. The proposal creates new definitions for land use types containing solar energy systems based on input from the Board of County Commissioners, the Code Update Committee and staff input:

• Level 1: Roof-mounted or ground-mounted systems of up to 50 percent of the footprint of the primary structure on the parcel, but no more than 1 acre, a solar energy system covering permanent parking and other hardscape area, or a building integrated solar (such as shingle, hanging solar or canopy)

• Level 2: Ground mounted systems not included in Level 1 that may range in size from up to one-half acre, up to 10 acres and up to 50 acres depending on the zoning district

• Level  3A: Project/installation size of 51-150 acres (fenced footprint inside dimension)

• Levl 3B: Maximum project/installation size of 150-200 acres (fenced footprint inside dimension)

The draft proposal also makes the following changes:

• Specifying height restriction for Level 1 Solar Energy Systems

• Clarifying size restrictions on Level 2 Solar Energy Systems in Industrial Districts (50 acres)

• Adding the option for a non-steel, wildlife friendly fence structure consisting of woven wire and wood pole fencing

• Changing the approval process for Level 3A and Level 3B solar systems to be through a Conditional Zoning District approval process with final decision of the Board of County Commissioners

• Requiring a community meeting as part of the Conditional Zoning approval process for large systems

• Clarifying buffer requirements for Level 3A SESs and specifying larger buffers for Level 3B Solar Energy Systems

Proposed changes establish the following buffer requirements for larger solar installations:

• Level 3A (51-150 acres): 15-foot minimum buffer width containing at least 20 shrubs and six trees per 100 feet

• Level 3B (150-200 acres): 25-foot minimum buffer width containing at least 30 shrubs and 10 trees per 100 feet

Setback requirements are also stipulated.

Proposed changes also include the following:

• Reducing installation separation requirements for SES systems greater than 50 acres from five miles to three miles and adding a disclaimer that separation requirements do not apply in nonresidential districts in order to avoid potential downzoning issues conflicting with new state laws.

• Specifying planting requirements (such as initial size and evergreen percentage)

• Site plan requirement and emergency response plan requirement

• Additional decommissioning requirements, including a letter of credit or performance bond

Data centers and battery storage

The proposed changes would add data centers as a use in the table of permitted uses as follows:

• Data centers less than 80,000 square feet would be permitted in Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial districts, and a special use permit would be required in the Heavy Business district.

• Data centers greater than 80,000 square feet in size would require a conditional zoning district approval in the Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial districts.

Jake Petrosky of Stewart clarified that data centers would not be permitted in other zoning districts.

The proposed changes would set the following supplemental standards for data centers:

• Noise study: A noise study would be required to demonstrate the operation of the data center will comply with applicable county ordinances.

• Location: The facility shall be setback at least 100 feet from all boundary lines. If located along Lafayette’s Tour Scenic Byway, this setback increases to 300 feet.

• Separation: A data center facility shall be at least 1,000 feet from a residentially used property, residentially zoned property, church, schools and parks.

• Principal building façade design requirements

• Buffer yard requirements: A streetyard buffer would be required along street frontages. This includes four trees and 10 shrubs per 100 feet of frontage. A 20-foot buffer yard would be required in order to screen the data center from adjacent residentially zoning properties or planned properties. This would consist of six to seven trees and 24 shrubs per 100 feet of frontage.

• Screening of mechanical equipment, fencing and substation requirements

The proposed changes would add battery storage facilities to the table of permitted uses as a primary use and an accessory use. Standards for enclosure, setback, separation and buffer yard would be established.

Public questions and comments dominated much of the meeting and illustrated the division of opinions over larger-scale solar farms among community members. Those who support increasing the permitted size of solar farms described the facilities as good means of bringing growth and economic development to the county in a way that adapts to the needs of today. Those opposing solar farm size expansion cited environmental concerns such as the potential for erosion, and for pollution of soil and water, especially in runoff after rainstorms and as solar panels age and degrade. There was also a public request for county commissioners to set a two-year moratorium on data centers to allow time for further study of community impacts. Questions and comments were often passionate, with people of both sides of the community debate giving loud applause at times.

Discussion about solar farm regulations will continue for some time to come. At least one more meeting of the county’s Code Update Committee is expected to be held to allow committee members to discuss the proposed changes that were presented during the Solar Listening Session. Stewart anticipates that a draft of the Unified Development Ordinance could be finished by the end of November or early December. The county expects to conduct additional community meetings during the process, and a public hearing will be required.

For more information about the Unified Development Ordinance process and to view related documents, visit: https://www.warrencountync.com/907/Unified-Development-Ordinance-Update-Ini