Public Getting Two More Chances to Speak on Solar Ordinance

Residents will have two more opportunities to comment on the proposed ordinance regulating solar facilities in the township.

The ordinance, which was introduced on first reading by the township committee Monday, is being posted on the municipality’s website Tuesday.

Mayor Steve Parker said residents will have a chance to comment on the ordinance at the May 20 township committee meeting and again at the official public hearing on June 3.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said.

The final vote is scheduled for June 3.

The ordinance now goes to the township’s Land Use Board, which will review it to see if it is in conformance with the township’s master plan. The Land Use Board has 35 days to review the ordinance.

The ordinance was originally introduced in March, but was pulled back after committee members expressed concerns about some of the language and requirements already outlined.

A key part of the proposed ordinance would prohibit the construction of any solar facility that would produce electricity for use off the facility’s property. Committee members included in the ordinance a standard that solar panels could only generate 110 percent of the power required on the property.

That provision would essentially eliminate solar farms in the township, unless a variance is granted.

An application is expected to begin hearings in front of the Land Use Board Thursday for a solar farm on . Parker has said the ordinance will have no effect on this application.

In its discussion of the ordinance over the past three months, the township committee has focused on what zones ground-mounted solar panels would be allowed. Roof-mounted panels will be allowed in all zones.

Ground-mounted solar arrays will not be allowed in residential areas with smaller lot sizes. The ground-mounted panels will be allowed in the township’s R-10 zone, which calls for a minimum lot size of 10 acres, mostly in the western part of the township.

The ground-mounted panels will also be allowed in the R-3 zone, where lot sizes are at least three acres, and in the office zones in the Route 206 corridor.

The ground-mounted panels will be prohibited in all other zones, including the PUD zone which covers most of the Hills community and the shopping center on Hills Drive. Committee members previously expressed concerns that ground-mounted panels in residential neighborhoods would detract from the nature of the area.