An arrangement or combination of components installed upon
land that utilize solar radiation to produce energy designed to provide
electricity for on-site or off-site use pursuant to a power purchase
agreement.
Use regulations and site plan review. A commercial solar energy production system shall be permitted by a special use permit. In addition to the requirements set forth in this section, all such permitted and special use permit uses shall be subject to the site plan review process in Chapter 121. The project applicant shall provide the following documents, as deemed applicable by the Zoning Board of Appeals:
All ground-mounted panels shall not exceed the height of eight feet
unless the applicant can demonstrate special circumstances exist which
warrant exceeding the eight feet height requirement. The primary reason
for the height restriction is to limit visibility of the structures
from neighboring properties.
All mechanical equipment of a commercial solar energy system, including
any structure for batteries or storage cells, is completely enclosed
by a minimum eight-foot-high fence with self-locking gate.
The total surface area of all ground-mounted and freestanding solar
collectors, including solar photovoltaic cells, panels, and arrays,
shall not exceed 80% of the total parcel area.
All solar energy production systems are designed and located in order
to prevent reflective glare toward any habitable buildings as well
as streets and rights-of-way.
Blueprints or drawings of the solar energy system showing the
proposed layout of the system, any potential shading from nearby structures,
the distance between the proposed solar collector and all property
lines and existing on-site buildings and structures, and the tallest
finished height of the solar collector.
Utility notification. No grid-intertie photovoltaic system shall
be installed until evidence has been given to the Zoning Board of
Appeals that the owner has submitted notification to the utility company
of the customer's intent to install an interconnected customer-owned
generator. Off-grid systems are exempt from this requirement.
Visual impact. Reasonable efforts, as determined by the Zoning
Board of Appeals, shall be made to minimize visual impacts by preserving
natural vegetation, screening abutting properties, or other appropriate
measures.
Land clearing, soil erosion and habitat impacts. Clearing of
natural vegetation shall be limited to what is necessary for the construction,
operation and maintenance of ground-mounted solar energy systems or
as otherwise prescribed by applicable laws, regulations, and bylaws/ordinances.
Any special use permit approval granted under this section shall
have a term of 20 years, commencing from the grant of the special
use permit, which may be extended for additional five-year terms upon
application to the Town Council.
Any commercial solar energy production system that is not operated for a continuous period of 24 months shall be deemed abandoned. At that time, the owner of the commercial solar energy production system or the owner of the property where the commercial solar energy production system is located shall remove all components thereof within 90 days of such deemed abandonment or will be in violation of this section. In the case of a commercial solar energy production system on preexisting structures, this provision shall apply to the commercial solar energy production system only. Additionally, the Town may recover such costs through the surety bond or escrow referred to in § 146-79C(1)(e).
This section is enacted pursuant to § 10 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law to promote the public health, safety and general welfare
of Town citizens through removal provisions to ensure the proper decommissioning
of commercial solar energy production systems within the entire Town.
The removal reduction provision of this section shall supersede any
inconsistent portions of the Town Law and govern the subject of removal
of commercial solar energy production systems in this section.
In approving a special use permit, the Zoning Board of Appeals
may waive or modify any of the above criteria if it finds that there
is no detriment to public health, safety and welfare.
All applications for a commercial solar energy system shall be accompanied
by a decommissioning plan to be implemented upon abandonment and/or
in conjunction with removal of the commercial solar energy system.
Prior to removal of commercial solar energy system, a permit for removal
activities shall be obtained from the Code Enforcement Officer. The
decommissioning plan shall include the following provisions:
An applicant for a commercial solar energy system may be required,
at the discretion of the Zoning Board of Appeals, to provide a form
of surety, either through escrow account, bond or otherwise, at the
time of application to cover the cost of decommissioning and removal
in the event the Town must remove the installation and remediate the
landscape, in the amount and form deemed to be reasonable by the Town
Attorney, who may consult with an engineer. Such surety will not be
required for municipal or state-owned facilities. The applicant for
the facility shall submit a full inclusive estimate of the cost associated
with removal prepared by a professional engineer. This requirement
is separate and apart from the performance bond referred to above.