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Belmont council narrows solar rules, requiring special-use review for commercial ground-mounted arrays
Summary
After months of study and public input, Belmont’s City Council voted unanimously March 3 to amend its land‑development code so commercial ground‑mounted solar installations (all 'class' sizes) require a special-use permit; residential rooftop and accessory rules remain administrative.
Belmont — The City Council voted March 3 to revise Belmont’s land‑development code to require special‑use permit review for commercial ground‑mounted solar energy systems, while leaving residential accessory provisions unchanged.
Planner Chester Jones presented the text amendment (TA‑20243) at a public hearing, saying the draft pulls standard language from the North Carolina statute and adds local requirements for screening, setbacks, storm‑water protections and decommissioning plans. Jones described three classes of systems by acreage: class 1 (under 1 acre), class 2 (1–5 acres) and class 3 (more than 5 acres). He told council that class 3 projects would still require special‑use review and recommended requiring special‑use review for commercial ground‑mounted projects of all classes to ensure consistent oversight.
“Any ground‑mounted system will have to meet NCDEQ storm‑water design manuals and provide a decommissioning plan,” Jones said, summarizing the draft’s environmental safeguards.
The council debated two approaches: (A) require special‑use permits for all ground‑mounted systems regardless of class or owner, or (B) require special‑use permits only for class 2 and class 3 (primarily commercial) systems. Several council members expressed concern about requiring homeowners to seek council approval for small residential installations. Councilmember Alex said he supported oversight for larger, visible commercial projects but did not want routine residential accessory systems to face the same process.
Council directed staff to amend Chapter 6 of the Land Development Code to require special‑use permit review for commercial ground‑mounted solar (classes 1–3) while leaving Chapter 3, which governs residential accessory structures and size limits, intact. Tiffany Parks, participating in the deliberations, confirmed the change could be drafted to preserve residential administrative permitting.
The motion to approve the modified text amendment passed unanimously. The council recorded that the amendment is a reasonable request, consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan goals on infrastructure and environment.
What happens next: The approved change makes commercial ground‑mounted installations subject to special‑use review and site‑plan requirements; residential rooftop and smaller accessory ground systems remain subject to existing administrative limits and accessory‑structure coverage caps.
Council and staff also asked that applicants demonstrate interconnection agreements (for example with Duke Energy) and provide storm‑water documentation as part of the special‑use package. Jones said the city will circulate the finalized code language and cross‑references for council review if further clarifications are needed.
