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Home My WebLink About07D Solar Ordinance Amendment City Council Action Request Cottage � Grove �here Pride and P�OSPerity Meet Meeting Date 3/7/2018 Department Community Development AgendaCategory ConsentAgenda Title Solar Ordinance Amendment Staff Pass Ordinance No. 990 amending City Code Title 11- Recommendation 4-10, Solar Energy Systems, to allow solar energy systems on top of residential accessory structures in all zoning districts. Budget Implication f�UA Attachments Solar Ordinance CC Memo.tif 5.96MB Solar Ordinance.tif 10.13MB � � Cottage J Grove �here Pride andPCOSPerity Meet TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Charlene Stevens, City Administrator FROM: John McCool, Senior Planner DATE: February 28, 2018 RE: Proposed Solar Energy System Ordinance Amendments - Revised Introduction Proposed solar ordinance amendment permitting solar energy systems on the rooftop of acces- sory residential structures in all zoning districts and solar device size limitation not requiring a building permit. Background At the February 7, 2018, City Council meeting, Council deferred taking final action on the proposed solar energy ordinance amendment and requested that a workshop be scheduled. The workshop was held on February 21. At the workshop, the Council members in attendance all concurred that solar panels should be allowed on the rooftop of accessory structures with a 200 square foot minimum structure size. The Council discussed the Planning Commission's recom- mendation to increase the six square feet maximum area for the cumulative solar device area to 16 square feet. Concerns were voiced for the recommended 16 square feet of cumulative area for solar panels that would not require city review or permits based on public safety issues, aesthetics, and set- backs. Council supported the current ordinance regulation prohibiting ground-mounted solar panels on residential properties with less than five acres of land. Based on direction given to City staff, the City Attorney revised the proposed solar ordinance amendment to Title 11, Chapter 4, Section 10(D)(7), Special Exceptions, to read as follows: 7. Special Exceptions: Solar collectors and solar energy systems with a cumula- tive area of six (6) square feet or less are permitted in all zoning districts and are exempt from the provisions of this ordinance. Examples of these systems include outdoor accent lighting systems, power supply for traffic control sys- tems, powering a water pump for water gardens, telecommunication systems, backup power systems during power outages, and similar solar energy systems, as lonq as the system has a cumulative area of six (6) square feet or less. Draft Ordinance Amendment (Revised) The only revision made to the Planning Commission's recommendation to the Solar Energy Ordinance is to retain the cumulative area of six square feet as regulated in the current ordi- Honorable Mayor, City Council, and Charlene Stevens Solar Energy Systems—Ordinance Amendments February 28, 2018 Page 2 of 2 nance and to include additional "exception" language for certain solar collection devices with less than six square feet of cumulative area to continue to be allowed on residential properties. The revised solar energy ordinance amendment is attached. Recommendation Adopt Ordinance No. 990 amending City Code Title 11-4-10, Solar Energy Systems, to allow solar energy systems on top of residential accessory structures in all zoning districts. CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA ORDINANCE NO. XXX 1 AN ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA z AMENDING COTTAGE GROVE CITY CODE TITLE 11, CHAPTER 4, SECTION 10, 3 SUB-SECTIONS (C)(3)(f) and (D)(7), REGARDING ROOF-MOUNTED SOLAR COLLECTOR 4 SYSTEMS ON ACCESSORY STRUCTURES EXCEPTIONS FOR SYSTEMS THAT ARE SIX 5 SQUARE FEET OR LESS 6 � The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, does s hereby ordain as follows: 9 Zo SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Cottage Grove, County of 11 Washington, State of Minnesota, Title 11, Chapter 4, Section 10, Sub-Section (C)(3) and (4) are 1z hereby amended as follows. The underlined text shows the proposed additions to the City Code 13 and the ��r�� text shows the deleted wording: 14 15 SECTION 10 16 SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS 1� Zs 11-4-10: SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS: 19 zo C. General Standards z1 zz 3. Roof-mounted Solar Energy Systems: 23 z4 a. Roof mounting devices and roof mounted solar energy systems shall be flush mounted z5 on pitched roofs, parallel to the roofline. 26 z� b. Roof-mounted solar energy systems mounted on a flat roof of a building located in a zs nonresidential district may be mounted at an angle to the roof to improve their efficiency; z9 however, the highest point of a solar collector shall not be more than five feet (5') from 3o the surface of the roof, measured in a straight line above the roof upon which the solar 31 collector is mounted. 32 33 c. Roof-mounted solar energy systems shall not extend beyond the exterior perimeter of 34 the building on which the system is mounted or built. 35 36 d. Exterior piping for solar hot water systems is prohibited to extend beyond the perimeter 3� of the building. 38 39 e. Roof-mounted solar energy systems shall comply with the maximum height 4o requirements for the zoning district in which they are located. 41 4Z f. C?nnf_mni�r�t�elor or� v cvctol'1'1 j �ro r�rnhihitoiJ nr� on�snrv c�ri��-oc in rcvm�rrv-arrc rcr�crr�i�cGTT cG�ac vr��crac Tia�rT 43 r,�;��t+a��e��^�—a;�t�+c�s. Roof-mounted solar enerqy systems are permitted on 44 certain accessory structures in residential zoninq districts, subiect to the followinq 45 performance standards: 46 City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota Ordinance No. XXX Page 2 of 3 4� (1) The accessory structure must have a minimum of 200 square feet of floor area 4s and must comply with all accessory structure requlations for the zoninq district in 49 which the property is located. 50 51 (2) The roof-mounted solar enerqy system must not extend beyond the exterior 5z perimeter of the roof and must not have a pitch steeper than the roof pitch upon 53 which the collector is mounted. 54 55 56 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. The Code of the City of Cottage Grove, County of 5� Washington, State of Minnesota, Title 11, Chapter 4, Section 10, Sub-Section ( D)(7) is hereby 5s amended as follows. The underlined text shows the proposed additions to the City Code and the 59 �+r��text shows the deleted wording: 60 61 SECTION 10 6z SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS 63 64 11-4-10: SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS: 65 66 D. Additional Requirements 67 6s 7. Special Exceptions: Solar collectors and solar energy systems with a cumulative area of six 69 (6) square feet or less are permitted in all zoning districts and are exempt from the provisions �o of this ordinance. Examples of these systems include outdoor accent lighting systems, power �1 supply for traffic control systems, powering a water pump for water gardens, �z telecommunication systems, backup power systems during power outages, and similar solar �3 energy systems, as lonq as the system has a cumulative area of six (6) square feet or less. 74 �5 SECTION 3. SUMMARY PUBLICATION. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section �6 412.191, in the case of a lengthy ordinance, a summary may be published. While a copy of the �� entire ordinance is available without cost at the office of the City Clerk, the following summary is �s approved by the City Council and shall be published in lieu of publishing the entire ordinance: 79 so Ordinance XXX allows solar energy systems on top of residential accessory structures s1 in all zoning districts, as long as the structure has at least 200 square feet of floor area. sz The amendment also clarifies that while most ground-mounted equipment can only be s3 constructed on properties with at least five acres, any solar energy system that totals g4 six square feet or less in area is exempt from the provisions of the ordinance. 85 s6 SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and s� after its passage and publication according to law. ss s9 Passed this 7th day of March, 2018. 90 91 92 93 Myron Bailey, Mayor 94 City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota Ordinance No. XXX Page 3 of 3 95 Attest: 96 97 98 99 Joe Fischbach, City Clerk 100 101 Zoz Published in the South Washington County Bulletin on [Date].