Adams County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 17
72 SOLAR ENERGY FACILITIES
§ 17.72.010 Purpose.
A.
To provide areas suitable for the establishment of solar energy facilities based upon where solar energy facilities can be sited and mitigated in relation to the county’s adopted agricultural zoning.
B.
To provide site criteria for the utilization of the county’s solar energy resources. Each solar energy facility will be subjected to individualized review and the imposition of conditions based on site-specific information that will be tailored to address project impacts in accordance with the adopted site criteria. The ultimate goal is to achieve a predictable but sensitive site process that effectively and efficiently addresses project impacts.
(Ord. O-04-23 § 1; Ord. O-02-25 § 1 (Exh. A))
§ 17.72.020 Definitions.
“Agrivoltaics”
means one or more solar energy generation facilities directly integrated with agricultural activities, including crop production, grazing, animal husbandry, apiaries, cover cropping to improve soil health or insect habitat benefits or carbon sequestration, or production of agricultural commodities for sale in the retail or wholesale market.
“Large-scale solar energy facility”
means a commercial or utility-scale facility whose primary purpose is to convert solar energy into usable electrical energy to supply electricity to the electrical grid. Large-scale solar energy facilities consist of one or more solar arrays and other accessory structures, equipment, including substations, switchyards, battery storage, electrical infrastructure, generators, transmission lines, communications infrastructure, and other appurtenant structures and/or facilities. This definition shall not include roof-or ground-mounted accessory solar panels associated with a principally permitted structure or use and located on the same parcel as the principally permitted structure or use in any zone and designed to primarily serve that structure or use. Large-scale solar facilities require a Type III review pursuant to Chapter 17.94.
“Small-scale solar energy facility”
means a com-mercial energy system of not more than ten acres in size which is intended to primarily generate power for on-site consumption. The conditions listed in this chapter shall be used as a guide by the county to develop conditions that are appropriate and reasonable to mitigate project impacts. Conditions shall include setbacks from property lines, public rights-of-way, and public utility lines to address public safety, noise, aesthetics, and compatibility among land uses. All other code requirements still apply. This definition shall not include roof-or ground-mounted accessory solar panels associated with a principally permitted structure or use and located on the same parcel as the principally permitted structure or use in any zone and designed to primarily serve that structure or use. Small-scale solar facilities require a Type II review pursuant to Chapter 17.94.
(Ord. O-04-23 § 1; Ord. O-02-25 § 1 (Exh. A))
§ 17.72.030 Application of standards and criteria.
A.
Large-scale solar energy facilities shall not be allowed on properties in residential zones or agriculture zones with a current Washington State water right or U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) water right for agricultural irrigation use as of the date of the ordinance codified in this chapter and including water rights as identified in this section which are newly established hereafter, excluding “agrivoltaics” as defined.
B.
Solar energy facilities are allowed in certain zoning districts, including those agricultural parcels not identified under subsection A of this section.
C.
Solar energy facilities shall not be allowed on sites or portions of sites with an existing average slope greater than seven percent. Each solar energy facility submitted for permit consideration shall include a full topographic survey of the site with two-foot contour intervals. The topographic survey shall delineate all portions of the site greater than seven percent slope.
D.
Water Resources. Water required for on-site use (construction-phase work, restroom facilities and general maintenance) shall be obtained in accordance with state and local requirements.
E.
The use of general landscape practices shall be used to prevent noxious weeds and ground erosion and is preferred over the use of any kind of ground sterilant.
F.
Maximum structure height for the solar array shall be twenty feet as measured from the highest existing native grade below each panel.
G.
Setbacks for solar energy facilities shall meet a minimum setback of one hundred feet from all property lines.
H.
All fencing shall be sight obscuring when neighboring zones are classified as residential and from residential uses in all other zone designations.
I.
Solar energy facilities shall incorporate glare-reducing materials. Glare-reducing materials shall be maintained over the life of the solar energy facility project. In all instances, no fugitive glare shall be permitted to emit onto adjacent properties and/or rights-of-way. Additional glare analyses may be required when a solar energy facility may have the potential to affect flight paths of military operations. These requests will typically, although not exclusively, be made by the United States Department of Defense.
J.
Any lighting incorporated into the design of a solar energy facility shall be designed to provide full cutoff shielding and shall not emit off-site glare.
K.
All solar energy facilities must comply with any applicable critical area standards found in Chapter 18.06. Additionally, solar energy facilities that will impact fish and wildlife habitat areas, including but not limited to priority habitat areas, must comply with the protection and mitigation requirements, including spatiotemporal buffers, found in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Wind Power Guidelines, published in April 2009 or as amended hereafter.
1.
In the event a solar energy facility proponent chooses to utilize the fee-in-lieu option offered by the WDFW Wind Power Guidelines, a qualifying entity must be identified as the recipient of the funds. The qualifying recipient must be a bona fide and verifiable conservation organization with a specialization or focus on land and habitat conservation. A binding agreement executed by the solar energy facility proponent and the recipient shall be presented to Adams County building and planning in advance of any land use application hearing demonstrating that the requirements in the WDFW Wind Power Guidelines have been satisfied.
2.
WDFW shall provide a written approval of the terms and conditions of the fee-in-lieu agreement prior to any public hearings required for the solar energy facility.
L.
The applicant for any solar energy facility is required to enter into a development agreement with Adams County as authorized by RCW 36.70B.170 concurrently with the land use applications for the solar energy facility. The purpose of the development agreement is to ensure that the decommissioning/reclamation of the site is adequately addressed pursuant to the following:
1.
A decommissioning and reclamation plan shall be prepared and submitted with the initial application for a new solar energy facility.
2.
Decommissioning/reclamation of a solar energy facility shall be completed within three years of the date that power production is deemed to have ceased or after the facility has ceased to produce power for a period of twelve consecutive months at any time during the life of the facility.
3.
All non-utility owned equipment, conduits, structures, fencing, and foundations to a depth of at least three feet below grade shall be removed.
4.
All fences, graveled areas and access roads shall be removed unless the landowner’s agreement to retain is presented, in writing, in which the property owner agrees for these elements to remain.
5.
The property shall be restored to a condition reasonably similar to its condition prior to development of the solar energy facility. Restoration/reclamation conditions must comply with the Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington in effect at the time of reclamation.
6.
The developer or owner of the solar energy facility is responsible for the decommissioning; the development agreement shall transfer to any future operator or owner of the site.
7.
Decommissioning/reclamation cost estimates, which shall be updated every five years from the establishment and submittal of the security, shall include all costs associated with the dismantlement, recycling, and safe disposal of facility components and site reclamation activities, including the following elements:
a.
All labor, equipment, transportation, and disposal costs minus actual salvage value based on current market rates associated with the removal of all facility components from the facility site;
b.
All costs associated with full reclamation of the facility site, including removal of nonnative soils, fences, and constructed access roads;
c.
All costs associated with reclamation of any primary agricultural soils at the facility site to ensure each area of direct impact shall be materially similar to the condition it was before construction;
d.
All decommissioning/reclamation activity management, site supervision, site safety costs;
e.
Any other costs, including administrative costs, associated with the decommissioning and reclamation of the facility site; and
f.
The estimated date of submission of the security to Adams County.
8.
Prior to issuance of any grading or building permits, an irrevocable standby letter of credit, bond, or alternate form of security in an amount sufficient to fund the estimated decommissioning/reclamation costs required by this code. The security shall:
a.
Name the board of county commissioners of Adams County as the sole beneficiary of the letter of credit;
b.
Be issued by an A-rated financial institution based upon a rating provided by S&P, Moody’s, Fitch, AM Best, or other rating agency with similar credentials;
c.
Include an automatic extension provision or “evergreen clause”;
d.
Be “bankruptcy remote,” meaning the security will be unaffected by the bankruptcy of the solar energy facility operator;
e.
Adams County, in its sole discretion, may approve alternative forms of security such as, but not limited to, bonds, letters of credit, or other securities, if it finds that such alternative forms will provide an assurance of the availability of financial resources for decommissioning/reclamation that equals or exceeds that provided by the form required herein;
f.
Adams County, at its sole discretion, may also approve modified terms and timing of the bond amounts based on the life cycle stage of the solar energy facility; and
g.
Any bond, letter of credit, or other securities shall be updated every five years to match the decommissioning/reclamation cost estimates of subsection (L)(7) of this section.
9.
The developer or owner of the solar energy facility will include in the development agreement the plan for disposal of any damaged or decommissioned components. Various solar energy facility components are considered a form of toxic, hazardous electronic form of “e-waste”; therefore, disposal of solar energy facility components will not be acceptable within Adams County.
M.
Damage and Repair. Any solar energy facility that is damaged by the elements or vandalism shall be required to submit applicable building permit applications (if any required) within one year of the date the damage was first observed. Damage and repair do not qualify as decommissioned or abandoned unless the duration of the cessation of power production meets the requirements of subsection Lof this section.
(Ord. O-04-23 § 1; Ord. O-02-25 § 1 (Exh. A))
