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Paris council adopts ordinance to regulate utility-scale solar farms with SUPs and decommissioning rules
Summary
City staff and Planning & Zoning recommended replacing the city’s limited solar farm rules with a utility-scale solar facility ordinance requiring specific-use permits, decommissioning plans and financial assurances; the council approved the ordinance unanimously.
The Paris City Council voted to adopt an ordinance that replaces the city’s existing solar-farm provisions with a new utility-scale solar facility framework that will route major projects through the specific-use-permit (SUP) process, city staff said.
City staff member McGee told the council the change is meant to allow site-by-site evaluation rather than an outright prohibition. “The proposed amendment is intended to regulate utility scale facilities to the specific use permit rather than prohibiting solar energy development outright,” McGee said. Planning and Zoning unanimously recommended approval and staff said the new rules add decommissioning and financial-assurance requirements that the city previously lacked.
The ordinance sets dimensional standards, buffering and screening requirements, airport and glare protections, infrastructure standards, and decommissioning requirements. No members of the public spoke during the hearing on the item. The council approved the ordinance by voice vote; the clerk recorded the motion as carried (5–0).
City officials said there is no anticipated fiscal impact from adopting the ordinance beyond routine review, inspection, and compliance handled by existing staff. The new approach will require developers seeking utility-scale installations to submit SUP applications demonstrating compliance with the city’s development standards manual.
