The Fayette County commissioners voted unanimously to pass a solar ordinance that will impact 31 of the county’s 42 municipalities during Thursday’s commissioner meeting.
The ordinance addresses definitions, solar facility application and produces, general design and installation standards, decommissioning and coordination of local emergency services among other requirements.
Included in the ordinance is a provision that would require all solar farms to be 500 feet from perimeter property lines.
Not everyone was happy with the regulations, including Dr. Garret Breakiron of Uniontown. During the public comment session, he said solar farms have economic advantages, including increasing tax revenue.
He also took umbrage with the county telling him what he was able to do with his property.
“I propose that if you own the land, with certain restrictions, you should be able to do what you want with your own land,” Breakiron said.
Several out-of-state solar utility advocates, including Michael Koch, Utility Scale Solar Developer from Washington, D.C., asked the commissioners to reconsider the proposal claiming the provisions around battery storage and the 500-foot setback requirement was too prohibitive.
“I think you did a very good job listening to your community and finding balance in your ordinance…but I think the 500-foot buffer is very extreme. It’s a solar killer,” Koch said.
Before the vote to accept the ordinance, Commissioners Scott Dunn and David Lohr addressed the challenges of crafting a regulation that balances the protection of residents with the rights of landowners.
“We listened to our constituents, and the solar ordinance will include a 500 foot setback which you can get around with a variance,” Dunn said.
Lohr said voting for the ordinance was a tough decision given how split so many residents had been.
“It’s just one of those decisions we have to make, and I don’t want to limit (solar farms) because of the need for energy through our own country but also we have to respect landowners’ rights at the same time,” he said.
Work on the ordinance started last May, said Sara Harvey, director of the county’s department of planning, zoning and community development. She said officials heard over 68 hours of testimony, which included hearing concerns from residents and listening to educational seminars from solar farm advocates and entrepreneurs.
“We utilized different sample ordinances as well as used guidance and educational documents from the state when myself, the planning commission and our solicitor first came up with the proposal,” Harvey said.
The municipalities not impacted by the ordinance are Perryopolis and Ohiopyle boroughs; the cities of Uniontown and Connellsville and Henry Clay, Menallen, South Union, Springhill, Stewart, Washington and Wharton townships as each have individual boards that govern zoning in their respective municipalities.
