Republic file photo Columbus City Hall is shown in downtown Columbus.
Local leaders will soon have their next vote on whether to effectively ban commercial solar facilities in the city and its extended jurisdiction.
Columbus City Council will have its second reading of changes to the city’s zoning ordinance next week, said City/County planning director Jeff Bergman. The council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, due to Tuesday being Election Day, and the meeting will be held in the council chambers of Columbus City Hall.
The zoning ordinance amendments cover a variety of topics, including commercial solar energy systems (CSES).
Planning officials define CSES as systems that capture and convert solar energy into electricity for the primary purpose of selling this energy for use in locations other than the site at which it is generated. At present, CSES are a conditional use in the Agriculture: Preferred (AP) district and are prohibited elsewhere, Bergman said in a previous interview.
At its last meeting, city council voted to amend the zoning ordinance changes that had been sent forward by Columbus Plan Commission and essentially prohibit CSES in the city of Columbus and its extended planning jurisdiction.
The amendment, which was proposed by Councilman Frank Miller, strikes a section that lists CSES as a conditional use in the AP and Agricultural: General Rural (AG) zoning districts. Miller said that while he is not against solar power, he wants to protect the city’s opportunities for future growth.
Per the city’s zoning ordinance, any use that is not listed as a permitted use or a conditional use in a district is generally considered prohibited.
“The Planning Director may determine into which category any questionable use is placed if it is not specifically listed but is similar to another use that is a permitted or a conditional use,” the ordinance adds. “This determination may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals.”
Bergman said that it is “always possible” for someone to seek a use variance through the BZA for something that is not listed as permitted or conditional.
Conditional uses also require approval from the BZA or the BZA hearing officer.
In addition to allowing CSES as a conditional use in two zoning districts, the plan commission’s draft of the zoning ordinance changes included development standards for CSES, with these largely mirroring the county’s ordinance.
The main difference was that while the county regulations state that solar fields must be at least a half-mile away from municipal boundary lines, the city plan commission’s draft stated that solar fields could not be located in areas that lie within the city’s extended planning jurisdiction unless city officials agreed to a waiver.
However, the amended draft of the ordinance changes, if approved, makes this a moot point.
“Those facilities just aren’t permitted, so there’s no need for setback exceptions or waivers or those kind of things,” Bergman said.
In addition to regulations around solar farms, other proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance touch on topics such as manufactured housing, accessory dwellings and electrical vehicle charging stations.
The update also includes new sections for on-site solar systems and neighborhood-scale solar systems.
While Wednesday’s meeting will be council’s second vote on the zoning ordinance changes, there’s still another step to go before the changes are final.
According to Bergman, since city council is amending the plan commission’s recommendation, the matter will have to return to the commission for another vote after the council’s second reading.
The subject of commercial solar regulations has generated a lot of public interest. About 20 individuals spoke during the time for comment at the Oct. 17 council meeting. Several were opposed to having solar farms in the two-mile jurisdiction, but there were also a few who spoke out in favor of less regulation.
Where to learn more
Agendas and materials for council meetings are posted at columbus.in.gov/clerk-treasurer/city-council-agendas/.
Council meetings are also livestreamed at columbus.in.gov/video/live-streaming/.
