Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Energy Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission recommends minor plan change to allow SRP battery R&D on 33.5 acres, with Prop 207 waiver condition
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of a minor general plan amendment (PZ-26-21) to change ~33.546 acres from suburban neighborhood to industry for non-lithium battery R&D and storage on SRP-owned land; approval was conditioned on the property owner executing a Proposition 207 waiver before council action.
The Florence Planning & Zoning Commission voted May 21 to recommend a minor general plan amendment that would reclassify roughly 33.546 acres near Bella Vista and Adaway Road from a suburban neighborhood place type to an industrial place type, allowing non-lithium battery testing, storage, and research-and-development projects on Salt River Project (SRP)-owned land.
Staff framed the item (case PZ-26-21) as a limited general-plan boundary adjustment necessary to make future zoning consistent with potential third-party R&D and battery storage uses on SRP-leased parcels. Staff said SRP had performed outreach (a voluntary neighborhood meeting on May 14) and that no members of the public attended or submitted comments for the commission hearing.
Ree Anderson, representing SRP and counsel for the applicant, described SRP's decision to voluntarily engage local land‑use review when leasing to third-party research partners, and previewed future zoning and site-plan submittals. Anderson said the change adjusts existing PUD boundaries and prepares the site for multiple pilot projects that will take power from adjacent solar fields for utility-scale testing.
Chico Hunter, SRP's manager of innovation and development, said the current hearing is preparatory: SRP has identified initial pilot technologies (CM Blue and ESS/New Horizon) but has not yet issued future procurement for additional third-party projects. Barry Sarin of ESS described ESS's technology as "nonflammable" and said deployments include hydrogen venting systems should venting be necessary. "The material that we use is nonflammable," Sarin said, and added that ESS has deployed the technology in multiple sites with no fires reported.
Commissioners asked technical and land-use questions: how projects would be sited relative to one another, building heights and which PUDs govern height limits, the acres included in the minor amendment versus adjacent SRP-controlled land, and fire-safety training coordination with local responders. Staff and applicants said building-height limits and other PUD-specific standards will be addressed in subsequent PUD amendment and zoning cases. SRP and partners committed to coordinate with the Florence Fire Department on training.
Commissioner Leman moved to recommend approval to Town Council subject to the property owner executing a Proposition 207 waiver; Commissioner Woolly seconded. The commission voted in favor and forwarded the recommendation.
SRP representatives described planned pilot sizes: the current pilots were discussed as roughly 5 megawatts each with about 10 hours of storage as a utility-scale test; commissioners noted interest in the site serving as a showcase for utilities, first-responder training and tours. The commission and staff flagged that specific height and PUD amendments will be considered in future zoning hearings; the minor general plan amendment itself does not set building heights.
The Town Council hearing is scheduled for June 16; the recommendation includes the Prop 207 waiver condition. Additional technical details and PUD/zoning applications will follow, at which point public notice and hearings specific to those requests are expected.
