Rappahannock planners advance substation zoning changes, add noise limits and restrict battery use to 'accessory' installations

Rappahannock County planning commissioners voted to forward proposed zoning language for electrical substations to a public hearing after approving edits that add noise controls and clarify how battery storage would be treated.

The commission's action follows months of drafting and input from staff and the regional planning district commission (PDC). Commissioners agreed to remove a reference to the county’s conservation district from the draft before scheduling the public hearing.

Why it matters: The changes establish how larger electrical facilities will be reviewed in the county and add specific limits intended to reduce low-frequency vibration and transformer noise. They also set the planning framework for how collocated battery-storage systems would be reviewed.

Staff told commissioners the draft borrows much of its structure from earlier utility-scale solar language but is intentionally less restrictive because substation parcels are typically much smaller. “A substation use is much smaller,” a staff member said, describing staff rationale for not imposing a large minimum parcel-size requirement in the draft.

Commissioner and public concerns: Karen Hunt (Jackson District) urged more safeguards, saying the current draft omits several items she considers important for review: “We are not specifying a minimum parcel size…we are not requiring potential impacts on wildlife or the biologically sensitive, significant areas surrounding the site to be provided for review,” she said. Hunt also asked whether the draft should require setbacks from prime agricultural soils, a minimum 200-foot frontage on state roads, and clearer expectations about equipment footprints.

Staff and other commissioners responded that many of the county’s existing substations are small and that minimum-yard requirements can address siting in many cases. Commissioners agreed to seek legal review on whether conservation districts should be explicitly excluded from eligibility for special exceptions.

Noise and battery-storage provisions: Staff said the draft includes a low-frequency noise limit and a sound-level provision intended to limit transformer and cooling-fan noise. The draft language incorporates a numerical standard staff described as a decibel limit measured at the property line of adjacent residential districts.

On batteries, staff said the intent is to allow battery storage only as accessory to a substation — not as a new principal use. “If you have battery storage at a substation, it has to be accessory to that substation,” staff said, adding that standalone battery-storage projects would not be allowed under the current draft. Commissioners noted this line is blurring as projects collocate solar, batteries and other equipment and signaled the commission may revisit the policy as state rules and local demand evolve.

Formal action and next steps: Mister Wright moved that the commission recommend the proposed language for public hearing with the one change removing the conservation-district reference; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff was instructed to advertise the item for the next available planning commission meeting so the public can comment.

What’s next: The draft will be advertised for a public hearing and returned to the commission after public input and any required legal review.