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Davie County adopts zoning text amendment adding setbacks, parcel-size rules and sensitive-site buffers for commercial solar facilities
Summary
The board approved a zoning text amendment (Text Amendment 15513) that adds minimum setbacks and site-size provisions for commercial solar energy generating facilities, requires larger contiguous parcels for commercial installations and establishes 500-foot buffers from certain sensitive structures; the change does not apply to homeowner rooftop systems, officials said.
The Davie County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a zoning text amendment identified in the meeting transcript as Text Amendment 15513 addressing conditions and table-of-use rules for commercial solar energy generating facilities.
The presenter (identified in the record as Mr Easter) described several design standards in the proposed amendment: a proposed 100-foot minimum distance "measured in a straight line from any direction from any property" for solar panels; a requirement that commercial solar generating facilities be located on contiguous property of no less than 100 acres as defined in the draft; and a 500-foot minimum separation from certain structures and places where large numbers of people regularly congregate, including houses of worship, daycare facilities, public or private schools, public parks and playgrounds, libraries, community pools, fire and police stations or other public-safety facilities, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, funeral homes and single- or multi-family dwellings.
Mr Easter emphasized the amendment applies to commercial solar-generating facilities as defined by the zoning ordinance; he said homeowner rooftop or privately owned facility panels for on-site use are treated differently and would not be limited by these commercial-facility rules. "If you wanted to put solar panels up on your property that's completely utterly different," the presenter said.
The public hearing was opened and advertised per Chapter 160D of the North Carolina General Statutes and County code; staff said the clerk's affidavit of publication was attached to the record. No members of the public spoke at the hearing.
After closing public comment, a motion to adopt the text amendment was made and seconded; the board approved the amendment by voice vote with no opposition recorded in the transcript.
The amendment removes and replaces some prior size and acreage language in the zoning ordinance; the presenter said the changes were intended to secure larger contiguous parcels so required separation distances can be met. The transcript includes discussion of a previous 100-acre maximum and a minimum-acre threshold that the amendment would change; the final ordinance text should be consulted for precise legal language and numeric thresholds.
No fiscal or permit-fee changes were discussed in detail during the meeting record provided; staff or planning documents attached to the official ordinance file would contain implementation details.
