City planners and developers described a planned battery energy storage system — often called BESS — during an Oct. 15 hearing and said a proposal to rezone multiple parcels for an industrial battery yard will require additional approvals and safety review.

Preston Bartley, a civil engineer with Westwood Professional Services, told councilors and staff that the project under review involves a battery storage yard composed of modular “pods” that store electric energy and deliver power to the grid during peak demand. “They're like pods that hold batteries,” Bartley said. “They take energy that's generated at non‑peak times and store it so then it can send it to the grid at peak times.”

Planning staff said the proposal requests industrial moderate (I M) zoning for several parcels totaling more than six acres in an area that has seen industrial transition. Planning staff noted the land use allows major utility uses as special exceptions; applicants must also apply to the Board of Adjustment for a major utility exception.

Council members asked technical questions about cooling, water use and fire risk. “Does this require cooling or a certain amount of water?” one councilor asked, citing examples of industrial battery sites in other states. Bartley said he was a civil engineer, not a battery‑system expert, and described the units as modular with varying capacities. A representative of the applicant said the project will be subject to additional review by the electric utility (PSO), the board of adjustment and technical reviewers.

Planners said they had received limited neighborhood comment at the planning commission stage; some neighbors had discussed parcel acquisitions near the site. Staff recommended approval of the zoning as consistent with the comprehensive plan for a corridor transitioning to industrial and major utility uses.

Officials said more technical review — including fire‑safety plans, cooling requirements and utility interconnection agreements — would be needed before final building permits. Councilors asked staff to ensure that emergency response, risk‑mitigation plans and public notifications are completed before approval of site‑level permits.