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Tooele County discusses energy development overlay zone; planning commission review required
Summary
County staff presented a proposed energy development overlay zone that would allow conditional review of varied energy projects and prohibit oil, gas and coal extraction; the council approved a prior resolution and will send the overlay to planning commission.
County staff presented a draft energy development overlay zone to the Tooele County Council on Sept. 2 and described the approach the county will take to identify potential locations after a pending state audit. Rochelle (staff) said the state asked counties to identify areas suitable for energy development, and the county has prepared an overlay draft that would leave underlying zoning unchanged and require conditional-use review for energy projects so neighbors would be notified.
Rochelle listed the types of uses the overlay would allow: solar farms; battery energy storage systems; small modular reactors and nuclear research/testing facilities; biomass and waste-to-energy facilities; carbon capture and storage; hydrogen production and storage; wind and geothermal. She said the proposal explicitly prohibits oil, gas and coal extraction and fossil fuel refining and coal-fired generation. The overlay would not change underlying zone rights but would flag properties for the state if the state recommends a site.
Rochelle told the council the overlay does not identify specific properties yet; the county is waiting for a state audit expected in October that may recommend particular parcels. She said the overlay is intended to work with the state’s recent legislation that, she said, allows energy projects broad siting authority; the overlay aims to create a local process for conditional review and mitigation.
Council discussion and next steps: Rochelle said the overlay must go to the planning commission for review before returning to the council for final action. Council members asked about timing of the state audit (Rochelle said October) and clarified that the overlay would allow the county to place the overlay over parcels without changing underlying zoning rights. One council member asked earlier whether large nuclear facilities would be allowed; Rochelle said the draft does not allow “any large nuclear” but would consider small modular reactors and related facilities as part of the overlay.
Discussion only at this meeting: the council did not adopt the overlay ordinance on Sept. 2; staff will take the draft to planning commission for public hearing and recommendation before the council decides.
