12 - PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING SOLAR FARM ETC.

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Item No. 12 memorandum TO: Mayor & City Council John Godwin, City Manager FROM: Alan Efrussy, AICP, Planning Manager SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING DEFINITION OF A SOLAR FARM AND POTENTIAL ALLOWABLE ZONING DISTRICTS AND REGULATIONS DATE: April 5, 2016 BACKGROUND: Recently a potential applicant contacted city staff to discuss the possibility of establishing a solar farm within the City of Paris. Presently we do not have a definition for this use, and therefore do not have a Zoning Ordinance inclusion regarding a district(s) where said use could be located and regulated. Solar farms are relatively new uses in zoning ordinances and they can be of benefit to communities. In addition, staff believes that solar farms encompass particular land use locational considerations which should be evaluated as part of the approval process. At the March 7, 2016 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, a discussion meeting was held and the consensus of the commission was for the city staff to begin the public hearing process for said solar farm project before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, and adopt an ordinance as stated herein. The city staff supports the commission's recommendations. At the public hearing held by the Planning and Zoning Commission on April 4, 2016, the Commission unanimously approved the elements regarding Solar Farms as stated in the adopting ordinance that is included with this memorandum. No one spoke either in favor of or in opposition to the project. STATUS OF ISSUE: The staff finds the following: A) Definition of a Solar Farm: A solar farm is defined as the components and subsystems required to convert solar energy into electric or thermal energy suitable to supply merchant power to the electric grid. The area of the system includes all the land inside the perimeter of the system, which extends to any fencing, land area required for setbacks, landscaping and signage. This term applies, but is not limited to, solar