Planning commission debates draft land-use rules for solar projects; commissioners favor case-by-case review and more outreach

The Montezuma County Planning and Zoning Commission spent an extended portion of its meeting reviewing a draft update to the county land use code that would add or clarify rules for solar and other energy projects, including rooftop systems, small-scale ground arrays and larger utility-scale installations.

Commissioners and staff discussed technical, visual and procedural safeguards they want the draft code to address: fire‑access and rooftop clearance standards, screening and view impacts, thresholds to distinguish small, community and utility scales, electric‑utility interconnection constraints, and a recommended pre‑permit public information meeting for large projects.

No formal vote on the draft changes was taken; commissioners asked planning staff to circulate marked-up suggestions, reach out to Mesa County for lessons learned, and schedule a future meeting to consider consolidated edits. Staff said the county’s…