The Greene County Supervisors are considering a new zoning ordinance.
A draft of the Utility-Scale Solar Energy System provision was presented by County Attorney Thomas Laehn to the Supervisors this past Monday. The Supervisors have previously put a moratorium on utility-scale solar panel projects, which will sunset on September 26th at noon. There is one proposed project by NationalGrid Renewables to install a 1,000-acre project near Grand Junction.
Currently, the County does not have an ordinance regulating solar panel projects for companies. However, the Supervisor Chair John Muir explains why they want to have one.
“I think it’s just in everybody’s best interest that everybody knows here’s the field we’re playing on, here’s the rules, and the public knows, we know, the company knows: here’s the rules if you’re within Greene County.”
One of the main concerns the Board had was in terms of setbacks, which Laehn went over in the ordinance. The solar panels would need to be at least 1,000 feet from any dwelling units and wildlife management or state recreation areas, 500 feet from buildings, 250 feet from a resident’s property line, among others. There is also a limit of 1,000 acres per project and another solar panel project must be at least two miles from the established project.
Muir feels comfortable that all of their concerns were addressed in the draft ordinance, while also juggling several other responsibilities.
“We’re given a tough job, we’re supposed to encourage – as much as we can – the responsible use of agriculture land, we’re supposed to encourage solar energy, and we also have a responsibility to the residents that live in the areas where these are going to be constructed. With what Thomas (Laehn) brought us and the setbacks that (Supervisor) Dawn (Rudolph) had presented, I think we all thought they were responsible. But I think for the mission that we were given, we’ve come to a pretty good compromise for everything at this point.”
The new ordinance would be part of the recodification of the county’s code of ordinances that is slated for September 12th with a public hearing and consider the first reading of the ordinance. Muir encourages all residents to read and provide any feedback on the solar panel ordinance. Click the link below to access the ordinance. Note: the proposed solar panel portion is marked in red.