Garfield County Commissioners make motions on solar development, oil and gas changes - Glenwood Springs Post Independent

Garfield County Commissioners make motions on solar development, oil and gas changes | PostIndependent.com

Garfield County Commissioners make motions on solar development, oil and gas changes
Taylor Cramer/Post Independent

The Garfield County Board of Commissioners discussed proposed amendments to solar energy system classifications during a meeting with the county’s Community Development Department on Monday. The proposed changes aim to introduce additional development standards specific to solar energy systems.

Currently, solar energy systems in Garfield County are regulated based on power ratings. However, Philip Berry, a spokesperson for the Community Development Department, recommended that these definitions be amended to be based on square footage instead.

The hearing, which was first brought to the board on June 17, discusses amendments to the 2013 Land Use and Development Code (LUDC) concerning oil and gas codes and solar energy system regulations. A memo presented during the meeting included a table summarizing the current and proposed definitions for different categories of solar energy systems, distinguishing them by power rating and physical size.

Currently, standards limit the height of ground-mounted systems to 15 feet and their coverage to 10% of the lot’s gross area. The proposed amendments suggest maintaining the current roof-mounted system size limit but reducing the maximum area for ground-mounted systems to 1,200 square feet or 10% of the lot size, whichever is less.

Commissioners expressed concerns regarding the impact of ground-mounted solar systems on residential neighborhoods.

“I think this definition of solar systems is too broad for residential areas,” Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said. “It may be too much for smaller lots in subdivisions.”

Additional amendments included limiting the total area of ground-mounted small solar systems to 10% of a lot’s gross area in commercial and industrial zones and correcting typographical errors in the existing code.

“We need to review, even on rooftops, the weight and load on the roof,” Commissioner John Martin said. “We also need to discuss storage capacity and safety factors.”

Also during Monday’s meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved Article 9 of the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) gas code rather than what was previously the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) . The approval allows the county to oversee the placement of oil and gas projects. The proposed changes include updating all references from COGCC to ECMC.

The COGCC code, which required all neighborhood meetings surrounding gas and oil to be recorded, will no longer be required in the ECMC code in order to “encourage further discussion at neighborhood meetings,” according to the community development’s Monday presentation.

The ECMC code includes rules about how far new buildings, like homes and schools, need to be from existing oil and gas wells, stating that no residential building unit (RBU) shall be constructed within 500 feet or less from an existing oil or gas well unless unless a surface use agreement or waiver is applied for and granted. Previously, the COGCC regulated only 200 feet from occupied buildings.

“Waiver requests will need to demonstrate that adequate space or mitigation will take place to ensure the health and safety of residents,” the updated code states.

The code also states that no school or child care center, playground or park shall fall within 2,000 feet of wells or oil and gas facilities.

However, The commissioners denied the proposed solar energy system modification, emphasizing the need for further discussion in a work session to refine the proposed changes and ensure they address all concerns.

“We need to talk about this more,” Jankovsky said. “I think it’s more than we can make adjustments to at this time.”

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