There is the movement towards “Green” with energy and
environmental issues. One of these efforts produced
by the Department of Energy was with a federal program called SunShot. This program was largely educational in
getting people to better understand solar energy and its benefits. An off shoot of this program was a grant they
funded to assist local units of government with issues relating to zoning and solar
applications.
The grant funding made available a consultant to assist
local governments to address solar initiatives.
The assistance offered was at no cost to the city and the consultant in
our case reviewed the existing code and proposed ordinance language for
consideration. Our code contained no
definitions or setback requirements addressing this land use. He also looked at the Comprehensive Plan for
policy language that could be considered as well.
The Breezy Point Zoning Ordinance did not address solar
energy in any way. A review was done
which identified areas and language where changes to the code should be
made. In that analysis a number of
questions posed by the consultant were considered by the Planning
Commission. Once an understanding was
reached about their desires, proposed language was drafted to meet those
goals. The Planning Commission reviewed
the final language and called for a public hearing to consider the
changes. Also under consideration was a draft
policy statement to address solar energy for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan.
The recommendations of the Planning Commission were reviewed
by the City Council. They approved an ordinance adopting changes to
the Zoning Ordinance that address land use issues related to solar energy. The policy statement for the Comprehensive
Plan regarding solar energy was also approved.
The city has now defined what is allowable for this type of use and is
ready to deal with it. We're hopeful there is some interest in accomplishing solar energy initiatives in the near future.
