Commissioners press for clearer setback rules: project boundary and 'greater of' language urged

During the public hearing on solar and battery rules, commissioners focused extensive discussion on how setbacks should be measured — from structures, property lines, or the project perimeter — and on whether multiple setbacks should stack or the largest should control. The commission asked staff to add a project‑site outer‑boundary setback row and include language that "the greater of the setbacks apply" if multiple categories conflict.

Nicole Hunt raised a scenario in which a neighbor with a large parcel might be unduly restricted by a structure‑based setback and said the regulations should include "neighboring property boundaries or building envelopes" so landowners could still site homes on their own property. Commissioners debated whether converting structure‑based setbacks to outer‑boundary setbacks could inadvertently reduce protection in some cases; they preferred the "greater of" approach to avoid that outcome.

Numeric specifics remained central: the draft table proposed 500 ft from residential structures to panels and 1,000 ft to batteries; commissioners suggested keeping those distances for structures but also adding a separate outer‑boundary line (proposed at the same 500 / 1,000 ft) and an explicit note that the largest applicable setback governs. Staff agreed to incorporate the additional line and to clarify how the setbacks interact with building envelopes, variances, and project perimeters.