Board to send proposed battery-storage moratorium language to new attorney after legal-limit warning

Members at the governing-body meeting agreed to send previously drafted moratorium language on battery energy storage projects to their newly approved attorney for review, after a staff member warned that recent legal changes limit moratoriums to 12 months.

A staff member (Speaker 3) told the group, “So there have been some law changes in regards to moratoriums can't be longer than 12 months.” The staff member noted the body had attempted to pursue a battery storage moratorium in the past and had at one point considered an 18-month moratorium.

Board discussion produced a motion, moved and seconded during the meeting, to forward the prior moratorium language to the appointed attorney for review. The motion passed by voice vote with no opposition recorded in the transcript. The meeting record shows no formal adoption of a moratorium at the session; the action taken was limited to referral to counsel for legal review and potential reworking of the language, including a specific suggestion to examine a 12-month length.

Several board members asked that counsel specifically review the proposed length and wording. One board member asked, “And what if we brought to him, as well, like, time? Brought to, like, 12 months so he could look at it and talk to us about the length,” and the staff member responded that the attorney could review the prior language and advise on necessary adjustments.

The transcript indicates the body had attempted moratoriums previously but did not record any new ordinance text, effective dates, or a formal introduction of a proposed moratorium ordinance during this meeting. Any eventual moratorium would be subject to the legal limits cited by staff and to counsel’s recommendations.