Board directs final language for utility‑scale solar: 15‑acre on‑farm exemption, countywide cap and battery setback options
After a lengthy public hearing, planning staff were directed to finalize amendments that would allow tier‑1 ground‑mounted solar up to 15 acres for agricultural operations, set a countywide acreage cap option and create a 0.25‑acre tier‑1 pathway for some battery systems with 50‑foot sensitive‑receptor setbacks for standalone battery projects.
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The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 1 instructed planning staff to return with final ordinance text implementing a tiered permitting approach for utility‑scale solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
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