Mario Bautista
The city eventually increased property setbacks for solar gardens from 50 feet to 100, adding a 200-foot setback for public rights-of-way and dwellings on adjoining property. The revisions also restricted the size of solar gardens to 5 acres, required trees be planted for screening, and required that ground areas not occupied by equipment be planted with native, pollinator-friendly plants.
After modifying the solar ordinance, the City Council lifted the first moratorium in July 2023.
A new solar farm application was filed with the city this past spring, drawing “significant negative feedback” from the community at an April meeting of the city Planning Commission, according to Gort. The City Council enacted another moratorium in May and this time considered an ordinance banning solar gardens altogether.
At a Planning Commission public hearing in July, local opinion was split. Some residents said they supported renewable energy, property owners’ rights, and considered solar gardens to be a low impact, non-disruptive use. Others said solar gardens disrupted sightlines, weren’t in keeping with the character of the area and were owned by operators from outside the community. After the hearing, the Planning Commission recommended against a solar garden ban.
Council Member Strub said he expected the conversation this week to center on the portion of the ordinance that says the proposed solar garden must be compatible with the present character of the surrounding area.
“We can quantify having trees around the site, we can quantify having a fund to decommission it after 25 years,” Strub said. “All of that we’ve got lined up, but how do we quantify what the neighborhood character is?”
