Planning commission backs draft solar ordinance with viewshed protections

Poolesville’s Planning and Zoning Commission on March 11 recommended that the town commissioners consider a draft ordinance to permit solar generating stations and front‑of‑meter energy storage systems in the planned residential development (PRD) zone, with added local standards intended to protect viewsheds and require dual use for agricultural or pollinator purposes.

Staff described the draft ordinance as aligning with state law while adding local standards: definitions for solar generating stations and front‑of‑meter energy storage, PRD‑zone permitting, lot‑coverage and viewshed protections, and a requirement that large arrays incorporate dual uses such as pollinator habitat or grazing. The draft also reflects the state’s expedited‑review requirement that local administrative (non‑zoning) permits be processed within 90 days or be deemed approved by inaction.

A staff member summarized the intent: the town cannot adopt zoning rules that amount to a de‑facto ban where no site could comply, but the ordinance can and should direct placement and mitigation to reduce visual or historic impacts. “It can’t be used to deny approval outright,” the staff member said of the viewshed standard, clarifying that the town may place site‑specific conditions (for example, siting toward one end of a parcel or requiring screening) while remaining consistent with state law. Commissioners asked staff to reword the passage so the standard reads as a consideration that may limit placement but not serve as the sole basis to deny an application.

Commissioners also asked for clearer guidance distinguishing items the town must enforce administratively (local permits such as grading or forest conservation) from matters where the planning commission should provide contextual recommendations to the Public Service Commission (for example, whether a proposed site aligns with the comprehensive plan’s desired pattern of density and rural edges).

“Per the state law, we have to process certain local permits within 90 days,” staff said, explaining the expedited‑review timeline and how the town’s administrative reviews would fit into the process. Commissioners directed staff to draft clarified definitions (including a viewshed definition) and guidance on the commission’s role in forming recommendations to the town commissioners.

A motion to recommend the draft ordinance with the edits discussed — clarify viewshed language, add a short guidance document on commission roles — was seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission did not adopt the ordinance itself; it forwarded its recommendation to the town commissioners for their review and action.

What happens next: staff will revise the draft ordinance language and prepare a short guidance memo for the commission outlining which items are administrative reviews and which should prompt commission recommendations to the town commissioners and the Public Service Commission.