Montecito commission backs countywide tiered solar ordinance, certifies program EIR and flags battery safety questions
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Summary
The commission unanimously recommended the Board of Supervisors adopt countywide ordinance changes and certified a program‑level EIR that establishes a four‑tier permitting system for solar and co‑located battery storage. Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff on battery safety, fire risk and flood/mudslide exposure; staff said project‑level review and building/fire permits remain the primary safety checks.
The Montecito Planning Commission on Feb. 18 voted unanimously to recommend that the County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors adopt countywide ordinance amendments to create a tiered permitting system for solar projects and to certify the program environmental impact report (EIR) that accompanies the proposal.
Staff described the framework as four tiers: tier 1 (smaller, generally on‑site systems) through tier 4 (utility‑scale facilities). The amendments clarify definitions, add development and mitigation standards (including setbacks, visual screening, agricultural and biological protections, and decommissioning and restoration standards), and create a permitting path so that larger projects (tiers 3 and 4) would require conditional use permits and additional project‑level environmental review; tier 1 and some tier 2 projects would be exempt or subject to limited clearance depending on location and footprint.
The program EIR (draft circulated Aug. 19–Oct. 3, 2025) was prepared at a programmatic level under CEQA Guidelines §15168. Staff reported the EIR identified significant and unavoidable impacts for aesthetics/visual resources, agricultural resources, and cultural/tribal/paleontological resources at the program level, and included a mitigation and monitoring program for subsequent projects to follow.
Commissioner questions focused heavily on battery energy storage systems. Commissioner Miller raised concerns about the potential environmental and fire risks from large battery installations—particularly in Montecito’s landslide‑ and flood‑vulnerable terrain—and asked whether a program EIR could preclude later environmental review of battery technologies and composition. Staff and County Flood Control said program EIRs provide a baseline and can be “tiered” by future projects but do not grant a blank check: larger projects would still require project‑level studies, building permits and fire department review. Flood Control noted updated FEMA maps will be adopted June 10 and said in some circumstances the department previously required "no rise" standards but accepted a 1‑foot rise with venting for specific cases while maps are updated.
Public comment included Juan Lehi of the Central Coast Climate Justice Network, who said: "I'm here to, in support of the proposed ordinance updates, to expand opportunities for responsibly cited solar." Isabel Stice of The Clean Coalition urged clarity in tier definitions and cautioned against adding new discretionary hurdles for projects that currently proceed with building and electrical permits.
After discussion, the commission voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance amendments and to recommend certification of the program EIR; it also voted down an amendment that would have removed tier‑2 battery components from the EIR for lack of a second. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the County Planning Commission and then to the Board of Supervisors; coastal zone changes would later go to the California Coastal Commission for certification where applicable.