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Bluff schedules joint planning-and-zoning session to advance solar zoning and related bylaws
Summary
Council directed staff to set a joint meeting with Planning & Zoning to draft a solar zoning/text amendment and to review planning-and-zoning bylaws and town code-of-conduct; councilors said they want action sooner rather than later.
Bluff Town Councilors on March 11 directed staff to hold a joint Planning & Zoning (P&Z) session to develop a zoning approach for solar installations and to review P&Z bylaws and a town code of conduct.
Council members said the town has not adopted a clear zoning designation for solar or other alternative-energy installations and that development of consistent language would help residents and installers know where and how solar could be allowed. A councilor summarizing recent discussion said Planning & Zoning has considered permitting and land-use clearance for solar projects and that Amanda (planning and zoning member) expressed interest in serving as a point person on the issue.
Councilors discussed options including a text amendment to the zoning ordinance, a standalone ordinance, or a zoning map change to allow solar uses. Several members favored a text amendment or a clause making solar an allowed multiuse in multiple zones so the town could quickly put policy on the books. The council agreed to seek legal input and to ask municipal counsel Josh Ewing to assist; staff said Josh had previously indicated he could help with solar ordinances.
Council members also asked that Planning & Zoning bylaws, the town—s code of conduct, and town policy-and-procedures be reviewed alongside the solar discussion to ensure consistency, and they proposed holding the joint session on March 20 (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.). The meeting was characterized as a work session without a requirement to vote; staff said members could submit written comments if they cannot attend.
No ordinance was adopted at the March 11 work session. The council directed staff to circulate materials in advance of the joint meeting and to return to council with a proposed path for a text amendment or ordinance.
