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Council approves county-drafted solar zoning amendments, limiting large-scale projects within city and preserving community-scale solar
Summary
After a presentation from the APC's executive director, the council approved Ordinance 9-2026 on first and only reading (vote 5-1). The ordinance tightens zoning and setback rules for large-scale solar, keeps community-scale and rooftop deployments unaffected, and establishes per-project and countywide acreage ceilings with limited ability to vary definitions.
Councilors voted to adopt Ordinance No. 9-2026 on first and only reading after a presentation from the Area Planning Commission executive director and public comment on May 4.
Ryan Oguerra, executive director of the APC, told the council the amendment grew from a county study group and public input during an APC ordinance committee review. Oguerra said the amendment is intended to clarify applicability and tighten where and how large-scale solar facilities may be sited; he described the change as "stricter" but not a ban on solar and said smaller community-scale and rooftop systems remain permitted.
Oguerra explained the code introduces new defined terms and zoning restrictions that cannot be varied (for example, certain use-definitions and some district-only permissions), while many development restrictions (setbacks, some dimensional standards) remain subject to variance through the zoning appeals process. He described two numerical guardrails frequently discussed in the meeting: a 400-acre guideline per project (in chapter 4 provisions) and a countywide cumulative cap of 6,000 acres that the amendment treats as a non-variance limit.
During public comment, resident Nicole Deltlinger said a 400-acre industrial solar farm could produce on the order of 100 megawatts and supply roughly 15,000 homes on the grid; she favored community-scale projects. Don Coller asked whether generated electricity stays local; speakers explained industrial-scale power typically enters the regional grid rather than being sold specifically to the immediate community.
The clerk's roll call recorded five ayes to one no and the ordinance passed. Oguerra noted the ordinance package had passed the APC 13-3 and that county commissioners voted the same day to approve their version.
Councilors and staff said the code is designed to allow future amendments if policy priorities change.
