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Mesa staff offers two BESS ordinance options; council debates 400‑ft vs. 1,000‑ft separation from homes
Summary
Planning, building and fire staff presented zoning and fire‑code amendments for battery energy storage systems, offering a staff recommendation for a 1,000‑foot separation from residences and a PNZ‑recommended alternative at 400 feet and 5 MW accessory threshold; council raised safety concerns and asked staff to seek more data before Dec. 1.
City planning, building and fire staff returned to the Mesa City Council on Nov. 13 with draft text amendments governing battery energy storage systems (BESS), presenting two alternative ordinances and seeking council direction before formal introduction on Dec. 1.
Rachel Phillips, staff lead on the amendments, said the two ordinances differ chiefly on residential separation and an accessory‑use capacity threshold. "The ordinance that staff brought forward proposed a thousand foot separation from the nearest residential use or zoning district," Phillips said, while noting the Planning & Zoning (PNZ) board recommended reducing separation to 400 feet and increasing the accessory‑use nameplate limit from the staff‑proposed 1 megawatt to 5 megawatts.
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