Gen Nashimoto, of Luminalt, installs solar panels in Hayward, California in 2020. (AP file photo)
As Columbus planning officials consider commercial solar regulations, questions have arisen around how such projects might impact the city’s long-term growth.
These questions emerged during the Columbus Plan Commission’s discussion on possible zoning ordinance amendments related to Commercial Solar Energy Systems (CSES) at its June 14 meeting.
According to a memo from City/County Planning Director Jeff Bergman, CSES or solar farms are “large-scale facilities that generate electricity for commercial sales.” The classification does not apply to solar panels at individual homes or businesses that primarily provide energy for the property on which they are located.
Solar farms are currently listed as a conditional use in the Agriculture: Preferred zoning district and prohibited elsewhere, he said. At present, the city’s zoning ordinance does not include specific minimum setbacks or other development standards for these systems.
The Bartholomew County Plan Commission, on the other hand, voted in November to approve an ordinance on CSES. The full document can be accessed on the City of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department website.
“The question, I think, for the city plan commission is whether you would like to do the same in terms of creating some standards arounds those kind of facilities to be included in the city’s zoning regulations,” said Bergman. “And if so, do you want to follow the path that the county has already taken, or do you want something different?”
He added that planning officials want to ensure the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals has the proper guidance to consider future applications for such projects. He’s aware of three commercial solar companies that are pursuing projects within the county and assembling leased property, with two that are “getting relatively close to a place where they might want to apply for local approval.”
Under the county ordinance, a CSES is a conditional use in Agriculture: Preferred and Agriculture: General Rural zoning districts.
Setbacks of a commercial solar field must be 200 feet from all nonparticipating property lines and 500 feet from all nonparticipating residences. Electrical substations for solar fields must be setback at least 500 feet from nonparticipating property lines.
Additionally, solar fields must be at least a half-mile away from municipal boundary lines.
No exceptions will be made to these standards unless the affected property owners or municipality leaders sign a waiver.
For each proposed solar field development in the county, a public hearing will be held before the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals before board members take a vote based on a specific set of criteria. Planning officials have said that the provisions of the ordinance are flexible, and the board of zoning appeals has the authority to place conditions on developments.
The ordinance also includes other requirements for aspects of a proposed CSES, including the process of decommissioning and restoring sites, and documentation that must be submitted prior to the issuance of an improvement location permit.
“I will tell you that the most likely scenario for the city is that these kind of facilities will be in the two-mile jurisdiction, that they may be partially located in the county’s jurisdiction and partially located in the city’s jurisdiction, as we’re thinking about the two-mile area outside of the city limits,” said Bergman. “I will tell you that we’re aware of two such projects being contemplated in Bartholomew County.”
He described both projects as having a significant or “potentially significant” presence within the city’s jurisdiction.
Indiana law allows city and town plan commissions throughout the state to establish an expanded planning jurisdiction, provided it extends no farther than two miles from each incorporated city or town boundary.
Bergman note for commercial solar fields within this extended jurisdiction, pieces such as decommissioning, financial guarantees and road use agreements would most likely be handled by the county commissioners.
He added that while the county ordinance states that solar fields must not be located closer than a half-mile to any municipal boundary line, the city could choose to adopt a different standard.
City Council liaison Dave Bush said that this is something to consider.
“Part of why we have a two-mile jurisdiction is because we can kind of moderate our growth or plan accordingly for the growth of the city,” he said. “So I think the biggest thing — I think most of what the county’s done is pretty smart. They were very thoughtful about it. I think our consideration on top of that is the growth of the city and how close do we want these facilities to be to city limits. Because there may be, maybe we don’t want them in the two-mile jurisdiction, period. Thirty years is a really long time.”
According to Bergman, solar companies have indicated that a typical lease term is 30 years.
Commission member Laura Garrett also had questions about how these long-term leases for solar facilities might affect future development as the community’s population continues to grow.
“Does that then force housing farther away from the city center, which then means more driving?” she asked.
“More likely, it’s that solar development is just a barrier,” Bergman replied. “… For city density, we’re talking about sewer and water service, fire protection, and those things are not going to bridge a 2,000-acre site.”
He noted that communities in other states have viewed drinking water wellfield capture areas as preferred locations for solar fields, as these projects are believed to be more beneficial to groundwater quality than agriculture. Some have also looked to locate these developments near airports.
“When I think about the county and how we have grown, and I think about subdivisions that have come forward to us, a lot of that is occurring on the west side of town, southwest side of town,” said commission member Amber Porter. “And my understanding is — and maybe I’m wrong — is that a lot of this would be occurring in maybe like the northeast side, that direction.”
Bergman said that he expects most solar field proposals will look to locate east of Columbus, as the west side of the county is wooded, hilly and likely unsuitable for solar fields, which developers typically look to locate on flat ground.
Porter then asked why the east side of Columbus has not seen the same level of growth and housing development as the west side.
According to Bergman, there are a number of factors that make it challenging for the east side to grow. He said that while the area’s “utility shortcomings” have started to improve, there are well-established farm families in the area who are not interested in selling their land for development.
Following a presentation from Bergman on the county regulations and some discussion by commission members, a couple of members of the public offered their thoughts on solar fields.
Matt Carothers, who is a member of Bartholomew County Citizens Concerned about Commercial Solar Fields, said that the group is concerned about the impact on property values and property owner rights. They feel that the county did a “phenomenal job” on these issues, he said.
According to Carothers, two sizable tracts of land within the city’s two-mile jurisdiction have been signed up for solar developments, and he’s heard indications that there may be an application presented to the board of zoning appeals this fall. He added that he himself was approached about forming a lease.
“We’re all competing for the same space, as you said earlier,” Carothers said. “And if you have 30 years of footprints this large locked up, how many future projects that this group might consider are no longer on the table?”
Real estate broker Jeff Hilycord likewise said he had concerns about property values and the availability of land for future housing developments.
“If we gobble up the available land in the county with these solar farms for 30 years, we’re going to even make that problem worse,” he said.
In discussing next steps, Bergman said planning staff will gather materials around the city’s growth outlook and the wellfield capture areas and expect to have this on the commission’s July 12 agenda as a discussion item.
In addition to the conversation around commercial solar facilities, plan commission members also discussed other potential zoning ordinance amendments on topics such as accessory dwelling units, manufactured housing and electric vehicle charging stations.
Bergman said in a previous interview that the zoning ordinance changes will require a recommendation vote from the plan commission and approval by city council, with the latter group voting on the matter twice.
Commission member Zack Ellison noted that any future commercial solar developments will likely take a long time to come to fruition.
“It sounds to me like, from one of the seminars that we went to, it’s a very, very lengthy approval process to get these approved,” he said. “Four to seven years because of the backlog. So anything that we heard about today, unless they’ve already put in application for approval, is a number of years out.”
