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Planning staff to move solar ordinance change to planning commission after state code update
Summary
Staff proposed a single‑sentence amendment to the county’s commercial solar ordinance to comply with a state law prohibiting local procurement or permit language that would effectively bar products manufactured outside the United States; the planning commission will consider the amendment and a joint public hearing is planned for December.
County planning staff told the Board of Supervisors that the Commonwealth passed a short statutory provision this year that prevents localities from using procurement, permitting or contract language to prohibit products manufactured outside the United States. That change conflicts with one sentence in Madison County’s commercial solar ordinance, which had required photovoltaic panels to exclude certain chemicals or components, language that could be interpreted to bar some manufactured panels.
Planning staff proposed removing the manufacturer restriction language so the local ordinance would comply with the state statute. Staff said the change is minor, limited to excising a provision that would conflict with state law.
Board members asked questions about cybersecurity and foreign‑made components; one member raised concerns about control chips in equipment and potential security vulnerabilities, and staff acknowledged those concerns but noted the amendment is limited to compliance with state law and would not itself regulate manufacturing sources or cybersecurity. The planning commission will review the amendment at its upcoming meeting and a joint public hearing with the board was scheduled for the December meeting.
No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; the board directed staff to forward the amendment to the planning commission and to set a joint public hearing in December.
