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Commission approves updated nonroutine solar permit form; flags ordinance wording for future review
Summary
Planning commission approved a revised nonroutine solar energy permit application form that adds a question about panel count and capacity after commissioners raised ambiguity about a 10-kilowatt threshold and battery/inverter output. Commissioners agreed to revisit the ordinance language about capacity calculations.
The Town of Castle Valley Planning and Land Use Commission on July 10 approved an updated nonroutine solar energy system permit application form and directed staff to flag ordinance language for future review.
Staff presented the revised form and told commissioners they had added a question asking applicants to list the number of panels and the rated wattage per panel. The change was made after a recent application included a battery-backed system whose inverter AC output exceeded 10 kilowatts while the solar panels’ DC rating totaled less than 10 kilowatts, creating ambiguity about which value should determine whether a system is “routine” or “nonroutine.”
Colleen Thompson (planning staff) explained that the ordinance’s 10‑kilowatt threshold appears to have been based on DC panel capacity but that modern systems with inverters and batteries can produce higher short‑term AC output; the ordinance text (section 4.14.2 referenced in the packet) does not specify which measure applies. Commissioners agreed the new form’s panel-count and per‑panel wattage fields will help staff determine the appropriate application path while the commission considers whether to revise the ordinance language.
The commission voted to approve the revised form. Commissioners also asked staff to place a review of the ordinance language on a future agenda so the code clearly aligns with current solar technology and with the town’s stated objectives in section 4.14.2 (infrastructure protection, viewshed and safety). The vote to approve the form was recorded as passed.
