Buckley adopts 60-day moratorium on battery energy storage siting

Buckley — The City Council voted June 23 to adopt Ordinance 06-26, a 60-day moratorium on new applications to site battery energy storage systems in the city while staff and the Planning Commission study safety, siting and notification standards.

Senior Planner Farnsworth told the council the moratorium will pause new siting applications and allow staff time to gather data and add the matter to the Planning Commission agenda for study. "The moratorium will allow us a minute to figure out what we want to do for next steps and it means that there's a pause on anyone submitting an application to the city to say they want to site one," Farnsworth said.

Council discussion focused on safety and neighbor impacts. Council Member Jay Morurell said he is preparing amendments he hopes will strengthen protections, including requiring containment liners at facility pads to prevent contaminated runoff and expanding the standard property-notification radius beyond 300 feet to roughly 1,000 feet so more nearby owners are alerted to proposed sites. Morurell framed those changes as public-health and transparency measures.

One council member told the council they would recuse themself from vote because they work on an energy team; the transcript records the recusal statement but does not name that member. Councilmembers discussed experiences in nearby jurisdictions and referenced thermal-event incidents at other installations when weighing protections.

The ordinance was moved, seconded and approved. Farnsworth said the 60-day pause will give the city time to analyze incidents where these systems have failed, gather best practices, and propose code or notification changes to the Planning Commission and back to council for consideration.

Why it matters: battery energy storage technologies have expanded rapidly alongside renewable-energy development. Local governments are weighing trade-offs between supporting grid modernization and ensuring fire, runoff and public-notification safeguards. Buckley's moratorium is intended to create a controlled window for the city to adopt code language and safety standards before new facilities are sited.

What happens next: Staff will add the topic to the Planning Commission's agenda for study during the moratorium and draft any ordinance amendments for council review. Council Member Morurell indicated he will move proposed amendments addressing liner requirements and an expanded notification radius.

Sources: Senior Planner Farnsworth, Council Member Jay Morurell, council discussion at the June 23, 2026 Buckley City Council meeting.