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Commissioners direct draft of moratorium ordinance on battery energy storage systems
Summary
Area-plan staff advised the board to adopt a short moratorium on standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) so the county can study setbacks, sound and safety standards; commissioners asked legal staff to draft an ordinance for future hearings.
Clinton County commissioners asked staff June 3 to draft a moratorium ordinance on battery energy storage systems so the county can study appropriate zoning standards, setbacks and safety requirements before applications arrive.
Liz Stitzel of the area plan told the board that several inquiries about standalone battery energy storage systems, sometimes called BESS, have appeared in the county. She said current zoning lacks tailored rules for those installations: “They do need to have different setbacks, different concerns . . . there are some things that are unique to BESAs.” Stitzel recommended a moratorium of up to one year to allow drafting of ordinances and an overlay district that would send any future proposals first through rezoning and public hearings.
Stitzel outlined potential concerns she and staff have heard nationally and locally, including noise and fire risk, and said the county intends to visit an operating site to measure sound before proposing mitigation standards. “We've already done a couple visits . . . we wanna go hear one when it's a hot day and every fan is running, before we decide what kind of mitigation is most appropriate,” she said.
Commissioners directed the county attorney, Tom, to draft a moratorium ordinance for later review by an ordinance committee, the plan commission and the board. Stitzel emphasized that a moratorium would be a pause to allow lawfully permitted drafting and would not remove an applicant's legal right to apply; she described the moratorium as a tool to allow the county to “evaluate what regulations and what processes are best suited.”
No final ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the board approved drafting and putting a proposed moratorium on a future agenda for formal consideration.
Area-plan staff said they would return with draft language and recommended next steps, including an overlay district approach similar to the county's solar and wind frameworks if commissioners wish to require rezoning and extra standards for BESS proposals.
