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Suffolk staff to seek new solar rules after noise complaints; public hearing set June 18
Summary
City planning staff proposed Unified Development Ordinance amendments that would set minimum distances for noise-generating solar equipment, require compliance with noise studies tied to conditional-use permits and cap megawatt ratings; the measures go to a public hearing June 18.
City planning staff told Suffolk City Council on June 4 that the city will propose changes to its Unified Development Ordinance to address community concerns about noise from utility-scale solar facilities and the location of mechanical equipment.
The changes, the director of planning and community development, Kevin Wine, said, would require any facility approved with a conditional-use permit to maintain compliance with a required noise study and would create minimum setbacks for noise-generating equipment such as inverters and transformers.
The new provisions are meant to give staff and council leverage to enforce noise limits and, if necessary, revoke a conditional-use permit. “The first part of it is adding language to the UDO, requiring every facility, that is approved in the city with a conditional use permit that the noise study…
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