San Bonito Board adopts 45-day moratorium on local BESS approvals while safety, siting and emergency rules are drafted

San Bonito County supervisors on April 28 adopted a 45-day urgency ordinance pausing county acceptance, processing and approval of battery energy storage system (BESS) applications while county staff prepares a comprehensive local ordinance.

Planning staff said the pause would give the county time to coordinate zoning, environmental requirements, and safety standards — and to align a BESS ordinance with the county's Safety Element update. Proponents including Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and several project developers argued storage is critical to grid reliability, wildfire resilience and grant-funded climate goals; 3CE urged the board not to halt application processing, citing the state's AB 205 pathway as a potential bypass of local control.

Supporters of a pause and stronger local standards stressed fire-safety and emergency-response details. Labor and trade representatives and local stakeholders encouraged the county to include workforce and construction-safety standards in any ordinance. County counsel advised the board that adopting a local ordinance and moratorium does not appear to create legal liability and that state permitting agencies often consider local ordinances in their state-level reviews.

The board voted 5-0 to adopt the 45-day moratorium and directed staff to return with draft development standards and a proposed ordinance, with a target to present a draft to the board in early June.

What it means: The moratorium pauses county-level processing and preserves local authority while staff drafts siting, fire-safety, emergency access and other development standards. Developers may still pursue state review under AB 205, but state reviewers often attempt to accommodate local safety standards in their permitting.