The Town of Sullivan recognizes that solar energy is a clean,
readily available and renewable energy source. Development of solar
energy systems offers an energy source that can prevent fossil fuel
emissions, reduce the Town's energy demands and attract and promote
green business development within the Town. The Town of Sullivan has
determined that comprehensive regulations regarding the development
of solar energy systems are necessary to protect the interests of
the Town, its residents, and businesses. This article is intended
to promote the effective and efficient use of solar energy systems;
establish provisions for the placement, design, construction, operation
and removal of such systems in order to uphold the public health,
safety and welfare; and to ensure that such systems will not have
a significant adverse impact on the aesthetic qualities and character
of the Town.
This article shall apply to all solar energy systems in the
Town of Sullivan which are installed or modified after the effective
date of this article. All solar energy systems which are installed
or modified after the effective date of this article shall be in compliance
with all of the provisions hereof.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ATTERBERG LIMITS AND FIELD TESTS
A basic measure of the critical water contents of a fine-grained
soil and its shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit. Establishes
the moisture contents at which fine-grained clay and silt soils transition
between solid, semisolid, plastic, and liquid states.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
BUILDING-INTEGRATED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A solar energy system incorporated into and becoming part
of the overall architecture, design and structure of a building in
manner that the solar energy system is a permanent and integral part
of the building structure.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER (EM)
An individual possessing the skills and knowledge to effectively
develop a site for use as a solar PV system and then reclaim the site,
restoring it, to the greatest extent practical, to its original use.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
FARMLAND OF STATEWIDE IMPORTANCE
Land, designated as "Farmland of Statewide Importance" in
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service's (NRCS) Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database on Web Soil
Survey, and/or pursuant to the New York State classification system
for Madison County, that is of statewide importance for the production
of food, feed, fiber, forage, and oilseed. Farmland of statewide importance
may include tracts of land that have been designated for agriculture
by New York State.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
FLUSH-MOUNTED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A rooftop-mounted solar energy system with solar panels which
are installed flush to the surface of a roof and which cannot be angled
or raised.
GROUND-MOUNTED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A solar energy system that is affixed to the ground either
directly or by mounting devices and which is not attached or affixed
to a building or structure.
HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENT
A contract between a developer and a local governing body
whereby the developer agrees to provide the community with certain
benefits and mitigate specified impacts of the solar project.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
KILOWATT (kW)
A unit of electrical power equal to 1,000 watts, which constitutes
the basic unit of electrical demand. A watt is a metric measurement
of power (not energy) and is the rate (not the duration) at which
electricity is used; 1,000 kW is equal to one megawatt (MW).
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
MEGAWATT (MW)
A unit of electrical power equal to 1,000 kilowatts, which
constitutes a unit of electrical demand.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
NATIVE PERENNIAL VEGETATION
Native wildflowers and grasses that serve as habitat, forage,
and migratory way stations for pollinators and shall not include any
prohibited or regulated invasive species as determined by the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
NET-METERING
A billing arrangement that allows solar customers to receive
credit for excess electricity which is generated from the customer's
solar energy system and delivered back to the grid so that customers
only pay for their net electricity usage for the applicable billing
period.
POLLINATOR
Bees, birds, bats, and other insects or wildlife that pollinate
flowering plants and includes both wild and managed insects.
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
PRIME FARMLAND, PRIME SOILS, AND PRIME SOIL LANDS
Soils and land that are best suited for producing food, feed,
forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and must be available for this use.
Such soils have the soil quality, growing season, and moisture supply
needed to economically produce a sustained high yield of crop when
it is treated and managed according to acceptable farming methods.
Prime farmland may now be in crops, pasture, woodland, or other land
but not in urban and built-up land or water areas. [As referenced
by the 2019 Madison County Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan;
lands designated as “Prime Farmland” in the U.S. Department
of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Soil
Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database on Web Soil Survey; and Class
I and Class II soil classifications found in the Madison County Planning
Department Soil Classification Map of Madison County (September 2007)].
[Added 12-15-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
QUALIFIED SOLAR INSTALLER
A person who has skills and knowledge related to the construction
and operation of solar energy systems (and the components thereof)
and installations and has received safety training on the hazards
involved. Persons who are on the list of eligible photovoltaic installers
maintained by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA), or who are certified as a solar installer by the North
American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), shall be
deemed to be qualified solar installers for the purposes of this definition.
Persons who are not on NYSERDA's list of eligible installers or NABCEP's
list of certified installers may be deemed to be qualified solar installers
if the Town Code Enforcement Officer or such other Town officer or
employee as the Town Board designates determines such persons have
had adequate training to determine the degree and extent of the hazard
and the personal protective equipment and job planning necessary to
perform the installation safely. Such training shall include the proper
use of special precautionary techniques and personal protective equipment,
as well as the skills and techniques necessary to distinguish exposed
energized parts from other parts of electrical equipment and to determine
the nominal voltage of exposed live parts.
ROOFTOP-MOUNTED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A solar energy system in which solar collectors/panels are
mounted on the roof of a building or structure either as a flush-mounted
system or as panels fixed to frames which can be tilted to maximize
solar collection. Rooftop-mounted solar energy systems shall be wholly
contained within the limits of the building's or structure's roof
surface.
SOLAR ACCESS
Space open to the sun and clear of overhangs or shade, including
the orientation of streets and lots to the sun so as to permit the
use of active and/or passive solar energy systems on individual properties.
SOLAR COLLECTOR
A solar photovoltaic cell, panel, or array, or solar hot
air or water collector device, which relies upon solar radiation as
an energy source for the generation of electricity or transfer of
stored heat.
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM
A complete system of solar collectors, panels, controls,
energy devices, heat pumps, heat exchangers, and other materials,
hardware or equipment necessary to the process by which solar radiation
is collected and converted into another form of energy, including
but not limited to thermal and electrical, stored and protected from
dissipation and distributed. For purposes of this article, a solar
energy system does not include any solar energy system of four square
feet in size or less.
SOLAR FARMS
A solar energy system or collection of solar energy systems
or area of land principally used to convert solar energy to electricity,
whether by photovoltaics, concentrating solar thermal devices or various
experimental solar technologies, with the primary purpose of supplying
electricity to a utility grid for wholesale or retail sales of electricity
to the general public or utility provider.
SOLAR PANEL
A device which converts solar energy into electricity.
SOLAR SKYSPACE
The space between a solar energy system and the sun through
which solar radiation passes.
SOLAR STORAGE BATTERY
A device that stores energy from the sun and makes it available
in an electrical form.
[Added 4-4-2018 by L.L.
No. 2-2018]
Low-impact storage/warehousing services shall be allowable only
within the Agricultural District, subject to the granting of site
plan approval by the Town Planning Board and specifically upon the
following additional requirements:
A. The property on which the agricultural associated low-impact storage/warehousing
business is located shall be a minimum of four acres.
B. The agricultural associated low-impact business must be contained
within an existing structure having a minimum total building area
of 8,000 square feet. Such existing building must have been constructed
prior to January 1, 1985. Expansion of the existing facilities shall
be prohibited.
C. A detailed site plan shall be prepared depicting all site amenities,
including ingress, egress, lighting, proposed agricultural associated
low-impact storage/warehousing area, any proposed attached signage
and other features as deemed necessary by the Planning Board.
D. All signage shall be attached to the building and must be approved
by the Town of Sullivan Planning Board.
E. The hours of operation associated with the agricultural associated
low-impact storage/warehousing business shall be within the hours
of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for deliveries and stocking of supplies.
F. There shall be a written operation/business plan for the agricultural
associated low-impact storage/warehousing business, which shall include
a summary narrative specifically describing the proposed use, the
nature of the storage, the existing buildings with drawings, access
points and proposed hours of operation.
G. There shall be no outdoor storage of any type associated with agricultural
associated low-impact storage/warehousing business other than farm
equipment.
H. Agricultural associated low-impact storage/warehousing shall not
include direct retail sales but shall be limited to storage and warehousing
of goods or items on site.
I. Such agricultural associated low-impact storage/warehousing business
must front upon, have direct access to or be within 100 feet of a
county or New York State highway with sufficient and safe sight distance
for ingress and egress.
J. All exterior lighting shall be maintained so as to not shine or spill
onto neighboring properties or onto adjacent highways and shall be
properly shielded.
K. The parking of vehicles on site in connection with the storage/warehousing
use shall be limited to only those necessary to conduct the low-impact
agricultural associated storage/warehousing business.
L. No overnight parking visible from the road or adjoining properties
shall be permitted.
M. If deemed appropriate by the Planning Board, there shall be an annual
inspection of the operations of the agricultural associated low-impact
storage/warehousing business conducted by the Town Zoning Enforcement
Officer.
N. The Planning Board may establish appropriate screening to protect
impacts to surrounding properties, including but not limited to fencing,
berms and tree and/or hedge plantings upon appropriate findings.