Supervisors amend solar/wind energy facility zoning

Changes to the County of San Diego’s Zoning Ordinance regarding solar and wind energy systems were approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on a pair of 5-0 votes September 15.

“I’m happy to see us moving forward,” said Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. “We do need to find ways to avoid using more fossil fuels.”

In February 2009 the Board of Supervisors directed county staff to streamline the regulations for wind turbine systems by developing a two-tiered ordinance intended to separate small systems for property use from large systems utilized for off-site sales.

County staff opted to include on-site and off-site solar energy systems in its review to create a comprehensive renewable energy section of the Zoning Ordinance.

“We took a major step in that direction,” said Eric Gibson, the director of the county’s Department of Planning and Land Use.

Solar energy regulations previously allowed on-site systems by right as an accessory to typical agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial uses, although that right was not codified in the Zoning Ordinance, while requiring a Major Use Permit in all zones for systems which generate power for off-site distribution. The new regulations allow photovoltaic systems for on-site use as an accessory to agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial uses.

Although excess power produced may be sold back to utilities, on-site use status will be granted if the energy generated is predominantly used on-site. On-site systems are subject to zoning structure setback and height requirements. Photovoltaic systems for off-site use utilizing less than 10 acres in area will be allowed with an Administrative Permit, while photovoltaic systems for off-site use utilizing more than 10 acres or any other solar energy system for off-site use will require a Major Use Permit. The new ordinance also adds definitions for “photovoltaic solar energy system,” “solar energy system, on-site use,” and “solar energy system, off-site use.”

The Zoning Ordinance had already stipulated height limits and minimum parcel sizes for small, medium, and large wind energy systems. Small wind energy systems are defined as one wind turbine on one tower of up to 60 feet in height with a blade length limit of eight feet. Such systems are allowed by right with a building permit, although the setback is required to be at least twice the system’s height. A one-acre minimum parcel size is required for a small system.

The changes approved by the county supervisors for small wind energy systems remove exceptions to height, setback, and noise requirements for such systems.

A lot of at least one acre is required for medium systems, which also have a 60-foot height limit. The previous definition of a medium wind energy system limited such systems to one or two turbines on one or two towers with a blade length limit of 16 ½ feet for one blade or for two combined blades. The changes increased the allowance to up to five turbines while creating a cumulative limit of 850 feet for the blade swept area, which would equate to a blade diameter of 33 feet for one conventional horizontal axis wind turbine. The minimum setback distance is three times the system height, and an Administrative Permit is required along with a building permit.

The changes add a requirement for findings before an Administrative Permit can be approved. The findings must include harmony in scale, bulk, coverage, and density, the availability of public facilities, services, and utilities, any harmful effect upon desirable neighborhood character, potential traffic generation and the capacity and physical character of surrounding streets, the suitability of the site for the type and intensity of the use or development being proposed, and any other relevant impacts.

Large wind energy systems require a minimum five-acre parcel and are restricted to no more than 80 feet in height with blade length limited to 45 feet. A Major Use Permit (MUP) is required, although an MUP can also set its own height in excess of the height limit and can set its own setbacks and its own blade size. In the absence of a variance, the minimum setback is four times the height from property lines or public roads and eight times the height from residences or buildings with a civic use. The number of turbines for a large system is not limited, although no individual wind turbine can have a blade swept area of more than 6,400 square feet.

“This is the right direction with the ordinance,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

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