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Washington County planners weigh 150‑ to 500‑foot setbacks after noisy-equipment studies
Summary
Plan Commission members debated how far solar inverters, transformers and other noisy equipment should sit from neighbors, citing studies that recommend 147–196 feet for key components versus a 500‑foot residential buffer used by Miami County.
The Washington County Plan Commission continued its review of a draft solar ordinance, focusing early on how far noisy components should sit from neighboring properties. A committee member cited studies showing that central inverters should be located about 147 feet from neighboring properties to remain under 55 dBA during daytime and that substation transformers may need roughly 196 feet to meet 45 dBA nighttime limits. "They specifically address noise — it typically fades to ambient levels within 50 to 150 feet," the committee member said.
The discussion split around whether to adopt technical, equipment‑based distances (e.g., 147–196 feet) or a simpler dwelling‑based rule used in other counties. One commissioner invoked Miami County's approach — a 500‑foot buffer from dwellings and screening requirements within 500 feet — as a straightforward template. Staff cautioned that setbacks measured to a residence differ from setbacks measured to a property line; commissioners explored combining both rules so that noisy equipment is measured from residences while the overall facility abides by a shorter property‑line setback. The commission did not set a final number but surfaced the tradeoffs between engineering‑based limits and broader protective buffers.
