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Home My WebLink About2017-355 Amending Community Garden Solar OrdinanceCity of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 Motion By: Bottema Seconded By: LaFave September 28,, 2017 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE TEXT OF TITLE X OF THE CORCORAN CITY CODE, ENTITLED ZONING ORDINANCE THE CITY COUNCIL OF CORCORAN ORDAINS: SECTION 1. Amendments. Section 1060 (Performance Standards) of Title X: Zoning Ordinance. The text of Title X: Zoning Ordinance of the Corcoran City Code is hereby amended by deleting the 6tFir.-*. material and adding the underlined material as follows: 1060.110 Solar Energy Systems Subd. 1. Findings. The intent of this Section is to allow reasonable capture and use, by households, businesses, and property owners of their solar energy resource, and encourage the development of renewable energy businesses, consistent with community development standards. This is consistent with Chapter 4, Section 8 of the Corcoran 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which states that the "City of Corcoran will protect [solar] access by requiring minimum standards for lot sizes, amounts of open space, yard setbacks, and maximum height of buildings for urban residents that create the opportunity for all building owners to develop solar energy facilities if desired." The general purpose of this subsection is to regulate the placement, construction and modification of solar energy systems in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, while not unreasonably interfering with the development of the solar energy systems in the City. Specifically, the purposes of this Ordinance are: A. To regulate the location of solar energy systems. B. To protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of solar energy systems. C. To minimize adverse visual impacts of solar energy systems and facilities through design, siting, landscaping, and screening. D. To avoid adverse impacts to adjacent properties caused by solar energy systems by ensuring that those structures are soundly and carefully designed, constructed, modified, maintained and promptly removed when no longer used. Page 1 of 7 City of Corcoran September 28, 2017 County of Hennepin State of Minnesota ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 E. To ensure that solar energy systems are compatible with surrounding land uses. Subd. 2. Development of Solar Energy Systems. A. Solar Energy Systems shall be permitted in the City of Corcoran according to Table 1 of this section. Type District Application Special standards Required Building All Building Building-integrated Solar Energy Integrated SES Districts Permit Systems are subject to all required setback, land use, and performance standards for the district in which the building is located. Building or Roof All Certificate of Non-residential rooftop systems may Mounted SES Districts Compliance be pitched at an angle greater than 5% and shall be screened from the adjacent public right-of-way and adjacent residential structures. Accessory Ground Mounted Solar UR, RR Certificate of Compliance for Panel coverage shall conform to the accessory building size requirements C11 of Section 1030.020, Energy Systems Residential Subd. 4, E., except Uses; L-that-ffhe total footprint shall be Site Plan calculated as the area of the solar required for collector surface. non- residential 2. The maximum solar panel uses; coverage allowed for parcels over 10- acres is 3969 feet. CUP as required by Section 1030.020, Subd. 4, E Page 2 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota September 28,, 2017 ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 Type District Application Special standards Required Sub d. 3. General Standards A. —Solar energy systems shall conform to the following standards: 1. Building Permit. A building permit shall be required for the erection of solar energy system. Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the operator must provide evidence of an agreement with the local utility. Off-grid systems less than 6 square feet in size, such as accent lighting systems, power supply for traffic control systems, powering a water pump for water gardens, telecommunication systems, backup power systems during power outages, a4a-d-etc. shall be exempt from obtaining a building permit. 2. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to secure any solar energy easements, if applicable, to protect solar access for the system (per MN Statute §500.30 as maybe amended). 3. SES Systems shall comply with all applicable building, electric, and plumbing codes. Solar energy system components shall be labeled with the manufacturers name and address, model number, and serial number. Electric solar system components that are connected to a building electric system must have an Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listing. 4. Glare. All solar arrays or panels shall be installed or positioned so as not to cause any glare or reflective sunlight that results in potential for permanent eye damage onto neighboring properties or structures. Staff may require a glare analysis that demonstrates compliance with this Page 3 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota September 28., 2017 ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 S. Power and communication lines. Power and communication lines running between banks of solar panels and to electric substations or interconnections with buildings shall be buried underground, consistent with Section 945.060 (Other Utilities) of the City Code. Exemptions may be granted by the Zoning Administrator in instances where shallow bedrock, water courses, or other elements of the natural landscape interfere with the ability to bury lines. 7. Height. Ground mounted solar energy systems shall not exceed 12 feet. 8. Required landscaping. All ) Rround- q'� mounted solar energy systems resulting in panel coverage of more than 100 square feet shall provide: a. A mix of pollinator and native groundcover mix beneath panel arrays, that provide native perennial vegetation and foraging habitat beneficial to gamebirds, songbirds, and pollinators and reduces stormwater runoff and erosion at the solar generation site, subject to the standards of Minnesota State Statutes §216B.1642. b. A mix of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs shall be provided to buffer the panels from adjacent properties and right-of-way and shall meet the following standards: Plant material shall meet the minimum sizing requirements of Section 1060.070 Subd. 2 D (Landscaping, Minimum Size Requirements). turns N r 'Olunluorlomi, W1 100armn-111, W1161A BONN =W WEN MUMQUIS-12AW "Wow WIN IN Page 4 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota September 28,, 2017 ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 ill. Natural looking and effective screening is desired, consequently, exceptions to buffering standards may be granted if the natural landscape provides screening from adjacent public right of ways and neighboring properties. 9. Erosion and sediment control shall meet the requirements of Section 950 of the City Code. Subd. 4. Application Requirements A. Persons desiring to construct a solar energy system shall submit an application according to the standards of Table I of Subd. 2 (A). Applicants shall also submit the following materials: RIM- rA Q B. Glare Study. If required by the Zoning Administrator, the applicant shall submit a glare study 11fAirls that analyzes glare from the adjacent right of .-.. %A1 %—..) way and adjacent residential properties using the Solar Glare Hazard Analysis Tool from Sandia National Laboratories or an equivalent tool. im a aw's =1 SWOUNAWI&WArAVA Jar I&WWWWW MKV MmUff IKWWW KWU Page 5 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota September 28, 2017 ORDINANCE NO. 2017-355 EA 17 C,s `ten ART k ff." M T A 'W W& a W & 0 Wirw1e.121 a ffi a 14181=4 11111 :211 L tralm KIM r-4 G Eq M n' I-,- -i-1 iitjjjj-xT Qr-flp qy�rqfni-" Fr\ "i-niriAp -F;"2nrj2j i-n -F pfc) r- m p. -F p A- I-' I %_j V V kj 1 1 %.A ) X-JI I-L I '4L, V VJ7L�; IL14.11 kil I LA II L-11 1.1 kJ " I 1 1, t,U I by-Q�Gfl-. n TI-) p CNIATI-It-11- f-N-F -1 VI-J'11- r\V1fA1-nXT OlTc--Fpy�n V-V-1j1Vj- V1f-\-F;-FXT f-TIQ t-;-FIT J" -fA I t�ng -k I v --i " A -i- rrrirl ;TnJF,--,�vf-;nc- Aici-rvn -F V . %-, I I 111 3 LA I I 1 61 ICT 1-11,3K,401111 11 A-JILL t-11%- I%J1\-EA1 t-kLI-111 i, -i -n o i-n ; � c•; r\ ice s. Sub d. 65. Home Owners Association All new residential developments may create provisions for solar use within the homeowners owners association documents. is 'AAR Vol 4W MINOR- Iffm=11 pl� =W-1 K Ill 1111111111 SECTION 2. Amendments. Section 1020 (Definitions) of Title X: Zoning Ordinance. The text of %z r- Title X: Zoning Ordinance of the Corcoran City Code is hereby amended by deleting the .A.Ari.-k material and adding the underlined material as follows: Building - integrated Solar Energy Systems - An active solar energy system that is an integral part of a principal or accessory building, rather than a separate mechanical device, replacing or substituting for an architectural or structural component of the building. Building - integrated systems include but are not limited to photovoltaic or hot water solar energy systems that are Page 6 of 7 City of Corcoran September 28, 2017 County of Hennepin State of Minnesota ORDINANCE NO. 2017 -355 contained within roofing materials, siding, windows, skylights, awnings or within driveways and sidewalks. Community Solar Garden- A solar - electric (photovoltaic) array that provides retail electric power (or a financial proxy for retail power) to multiple community members or businesses residing or located off -site from the location of the solar energy system, consistent with Minn. Statutes §216B.1641, as may be amended. A �nm ' �, .�� 1 , kil rL 111%,a r tail KV V %_iAlt1l V to ll.11 V 11 V L ZD r V T V YV 111, V V 11V iV YV J1 Y Y V A 1' 111111. V -Q I i 41 , ''� ,-,-, -,l' �,e ar'rreFvd -ems- -A community solar system T - ITT " e ar 111LAY "C' a shall be accessory or-ato a principal use and may be building integrated, roof mounted, or ground mounted. Grid- intertie Solar Energy System - A photovoltaic solar energy system that is connected to an electric circuit served by an electric utility company. SECTION 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon its passage. ADOPTED by the City Council on the 28th day of September 2017. VOTING AYE ® Thomas, Ron ® Bottema, Jon ® Dejewski, Brian ® Keefe, Mike ® LaFave, Tonya VOTING NAY El Thomas, Ron ❑ Bottema, Jon ❑ Dejewski, Brian ❑ Keefe, Mike ❑ LaFave, Tonya Ron Thomas -Mayor ATTEST: - 4ff J sica Beise —City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Page 7 of 7 City Seal