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<br />CC Regular Session 7. 2.
<br />Meeting Date: 05/27/2014
<br />By: Chris Anderson, Community Development
<br />Information
<br />Title:
<br />Consider Adopting Ordinance #14-04 Amending City Code to Establish Minimum Standards for Alternative Energy Systems
<br />Purpose/Background:
<br />The City was recently approached by Connexus Energy about a potential solar project they are considering implementing on their campus. In reviewing their
<br />project concept, it was noted that City Code is fairly silent regarding solar energy systems, other than two basic definitions related to solar energy and solar
<br />access. Also, within City Code, there is a provision that states uses that are neither specifically permitted or denied in any zoning district shall be considered
<br />prohibited. As alternative/renewable energy technologies continue to improve, Staff wanted to ensure that the Zoning Code itself was not a barrier to potential
<br />alternative energy projects and thus has compiled a draft ordinance for consideration. Note that Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) standards already
<br />exist and this draft ordinance does not address them other than renumbering and revising/relocating the purpose statement.
<br />Notification:
<br />A Notice of Public Hearing was published in the Anoka County UnionHerald, the official newspaper of the City.
<br />Observations/Alternatives:
<br />The Comprehensive Plan, specifically Chapter 5 (Land Use) Section D (Solar Access Protection), states that the City should be encouraging the use of solar
<br />energy in future development projects as well as exploring opportunities to increase the usage of solar energy systems in general. With these policy statements in
<br />mind, Staff contemplated several standards that could be considered relating to alternative energy systems (solar and ground source heat pump systems),
<br />including, among other things, whether they should be a permitted or conditional use, their location on a property (front, side, and/or rear yard), setbacks,
<br />height, and visibility/screening.
<br />As drafted, the proposed ordinance identifies both solar energy systems and ground source heat pump systems as a permitted accessory use in any zoning
<br />district. These systems generally do not present the same concerns that had been raised regarding WECS, such as safety and noise and therefore, allowing these
<br />systems as a permitted accessory use seems more appropriate.
<br />The proposed ordinance addresses three (3) primary standards including location of an alternative energy system, setbacks, and height. The intent again was to
<br />develop minimum standards such that the Zoning Ordinance did not create a barrier to a property owner interested in implementing either a solar or ground
<br />source heat pump energy system. Thus, rather than restricting the location of these systems to certain locations on a property (e.g. side/rear yard), the proposed
<br />ordinance initially allowed solar and ground source heat pump systems to be located in any yard, whether in a commercial or residential district.
<br />Setbacks were also developed with flexibility in mind and are based on the type of alternative energy system. Solar energy systems are separated into two
<br />categories, ground mounted and building mounted systems. Building mounted systems shall comply with all standard building setbacks for the applicable zoning
<br />district. Furthermore, any system that extends beyond the edge of building must be explicitly engineered for such use. As initially drafted, ground mounted
<br />systems were to be setback from a property line a distance that is equal to or greater than the height of the structure at its maximum designed tilt.
<br />Height is also dependent on whether the system is building mounted or ground mounted. Building mounted systems would need to comply with the maximum
<br />allowable building height for the applicable zoning district. As initially drafted, the height of ground mounted systems was to be restricted by the distance to the
<br />nearest property line or the maximum allowable building height for the respective zoning district, whichever is more restrictive.
<br />Location and setbacks are also identified for ground source heat pump systems (height is not applicable as these are underground systems). These systems would
<br />be permitted in any yard and would need to maintain a minimum setback of five (5) feet from any property boundary. In addition to these standards, the draft
<br />ordinance only permits closed loop systems. Open loop systems, which generally pump groundwater through the system and then discharges it to the ground
<br />surface or surface water, would be prohibited due to existing concerns about groundwater supply and some of the known potential adverse impacts associated
<br />with open loop systems (warming of surface waters, reduced oxygen levels in lakes as a results of the discharged fluid).
<br />Again, the intent of this Ordinance is to develop minimum standards to ensure that the Zoning Code doesn't present a barrier for installation of a solar or ground
<br />source heat pump system. However, the City Council may wish to consider or discuss other standards that could be incorporated. These could include restricting
<br />the location of these systems (or at least the solar energy systems, which are typically above ground) to the side or rear yard for residential properties, identifying
<br />a specific height restriction (such as fifteen [15] or twenty [20] feet, or restricting height to the maximum allowable height of an accessory building in a
<br />residential district), and/or consider requiring screening to the extent feasible without impacting functionality.
<br />The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing at their regular May meeting and was supportive of the draft ordinance. The Planning Commission was
<br />fully supportive of the standards as they apply to the commercial and employment districts. However, they did suggest certain revisions that would be
<br />applicable only to ground mounted solar energy systems in residential properties. The Planning Commission preferred to see the setbacks and the height of
<br />ground mounted solar energy systems correlated to the accessory building standards. Thus, on properties less than two (2) acres in size, a ground mounted
<br />system could not be closer to the front property line than the home (restricted to the side or rear yard) and would be limited to a height of sixteen (16) feet at
<br />maximum designed tilt. On properties two (2) acres or larger in size, ground mounted systems could be located in the front yard as long as it maintained the
<br />minimum required front yard setback (generally forty [40] feet) as well as the side/rear yard and would be limited to a height of twenty-two (22) feet at
<br />maximum designed tilt. Finally, the Planning Commission wanted to have language added that would protect adjacent properties from concerns of glare from
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