ZC 2022-02: Public workshop on proposed amendments to the Zoning Regulations regarding wireless telecommuncation facilities, solar energy systems, and energy storage systems (Article 11: Energy and Telecommunications Development Standards). Applicant: Yolo County Planning Division; Planner: SCormier

FILE # ZC 2022-02: Proposed Zoning Code Amendment to Article 11: Energy and Telecommunications Development Standards
APPLICANT: Yolo County	OWNER: N/A
LOCATION: Countywide GENERAL PLAN: All land use designations ZONING: All zones SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT: All	SOILS: various WILLIAMSON ACT: N/A FLOOD ZONE: N/A FIRE SEVERITY ZONE: N/A
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: To be determined

That the Planning Commission:

1. Hold a workshop and consider public comments on the proposed Zoning Code Amendment to certain sections of the Zoning Regulations in Article 11: Energy and Telecommunications Development Standards (Att. A);

2. Provide staff with further revisions to the Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance (Section 8-2.1102), Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Section 8-2.1104), and Energy Storage Systems Ordinance (Section 8-2.1105); and

3. Direct staff to schedule a future public hearing with the Planning Commission to accept further public comment and consider a formal recommendation on the proposed Zoning Code Amendment to the Board of Supervisors.

The Planning Division has prepared a set of proposed changes to certain sections of the Zoning Regulations in Article 11 (Energy and Telecommunications Development Standards) related to telecommunication facilities and solar energy systems, and is proposing to add a new section for energy storage systems. The primary purposes of the proposed zoning amendments are to update regulations to better accommodate the permitting process by reducing regulatory hurdles, clarify terminology, include state and federal statutes already in effect, and identify new uses.  Each section has been modified to update and introduce new definitions and to include a zoning table of allowed and permitted uses for ease of reference. 

The following attachments have been included to assist with the Planning Commission's review:

• Attachment A contains a 'redlined' version of each section with proposed changes to existing code.
• Attachment B contains a clean copy version of each section with recent staff edits in response to public outreach. 
• Attachment C contains a table that highlights the changes between existing and proposed sections. 
• Attachment D contains public comments received to date.

Summary of Proposed Changes
Section 8-2.1102: Wireless Telecommunication Facilities has been modified to more readily provide for 'eligible facilities requests' that comply with the 2012 Spectrum Act which mandates that a local government approve certain wireless facilities siting requests for modifications and collocations that do not result in a substantial change to the physical dimensions of a previously permitted tower or base station in conformance with Title 47 Code of Federal Regulations Section 1.6100(b)(7).  Attachment A includes a redlined version of proposed changes to Section 8-2.1102 and can be referenced for details regarding substantial changes in subsection (b), Definitions.

Other notable changes to Section 8-2.1102 include increasing the tower height for a small wireless telecommunication facility from 80 feet to 120 feet, which will streamline the permitting process for a small facility proposed in the rural areas. Increasing the tower height allows for greater collocation opportunities and is proposed to facilitate better coverage in underserved areas.  Standards have also been updated to require a setback from property lines that is equidistant to the tower height rather than limiting the height of a tower based on parcel size.  

Sections 8-2.1104: Small and Medium Solar Energy Systems and 8-2.1105: Large and Very Large Solar Energy Systems have been combined into one section (8-2.1104) and significantly modified to include provisions for onsite serving solar energy uses, particularly systems serving agricultural operations. Currently, the solar energy regulations require a use permit for any ground-mounted or roof-mounted system that occupies 2.5 or more acres of prime farmland, Williamson Act contracted land, or habitat. This, in turn, triggers the requirement for an extensive discretionary and environmental review process resulting in potentially significant costs and time associated with reviews and mitigation requirements, especially for renewable energy systems that will be ancillary to the primary use of a property.  Staff has noted that a typical solar energy system serving an agricultural operation requires approximately 3.8 acres but can be as large as 10 acres or more. 

To streamline the use of solar energy for agricultural operations, implement General Plan policies supporting the use of onsite renewable energy sources, and continue the protection of important County resources, staff is proposing to amend the solar energy regulations to allow up to 10 acres of onsite serving solar uses without requiring a discretionary review so long as the system meets required standards (reference Attachment A to review proposed standards). 

Currently, an onsite ag-serving solar energy system that is greater than 2.5 acres can be considered an 'agricultural use' in the Agricultural Conservation and Mitigation Program Ordinance [County Code Section 8-2.404(b)] and would therefore be excluded from mitigation requirements. Thus, staff does not consider the proposed changes to Section 8-2.1104 to be in conflict with protections addressing agricultural resources. 

With respect to loss of habitat, some solar energy systems are managed with a vegetative substrate and are therefore considered 'habitat friendly'. The amended regulations would require that all 'accessory solar energy systems' include a planting plan for increasing or maintaining Swainson's Hawk foraging habitat resources. If a proposed accessory solar energy system would remove foraging habitat, mitigation would be required.  Attachment A contains a redlined version of an updated Section 8-2.1104 where proposed performance standards can be referenced. 

Section 8-2.1104 has also been modified to clarify that all small roof-mounted and ground-mounted accessory use solar energy systems are subject to permit streamlining under the Solar Rights Act and Assembly Bill 2188 (2014) which mandates a standardized and simplified procedure for permitting small systems. This proposed change increases permit streamlining to all small accessory use solar energy systems rather than limiting to small residential rooftop systems. The section has been amended to remove the small residential rooftop solar energy system review process [currently codified as subsection (g)]  since the practice is already in effect and implemented under the Building Division's standardized procedures and protocols. The deleted subsections have no bearing on land use or zoning requirements nor do they eliminate the process for permit streamlining. They are simply not relevant to the Zoning Regulations.

The standards for a 'medium-sized solar energy system' have been updated to reflect the new accessory solar energy system category, and a medium-sized solar energy system is now defined as any onsite and/or off-site serving system that occupies over 10 acres but no more than 30 acres. Any medium-sized solar energy system designed to generate power that is fed directly to the electrical grid would be considered a 'utility' solar energy system.  The standards regulating the large and very large solar energy systems are relatively similar in the amended version, except the 'very large' category has been removed.  A large-scale system over 30 acres and up to 120 acres in size is proposed to be considered for approval by the Planning Commission (currently requires Board approval) while any system that occupies over 120 acres would still require Board of Supervisors approval.

The proposed changes to Sections 8-2.1104 and 8-2.1105 do not affect the updates that were approved in 2020 to limit ground-mounted solar energy systems in the open space and recreational zones, though some minor text amendments have been prepared.

Finally, staff is proposing to replace Section 8-2.1105 with a new ordinance for Energy Storage Systems.  With preliminary input from Valley Clean Energy, staff drafted the ordinance to help foster potential future uses for additional renewable energy opportunities. It is more and more common for renewable energy projects to include battery storage as a component of the project. The proposed energy storage ordinance clarifies requirements for 'paired' renewable energy systems and provides for stand-alone battery energy storage systems.

Public Outreach
Public review drafts of the proposed changes to Article 11 were posted on the Planning webpage at this link: Current Projects | Yolo County and circulated to all the Citizen Advisory Committees (CAC) and the CAC Interested Parties lists, as well as to a broader range of stakeholders, community and special interest groups, and local agencies on August 5, 2022.  During the month of August, staff attended several CAC meetings to seek recommendations on the proposed Zoning Code Amendment, including the Esparto CAC on August 16th, the Dunnigan CAC on August 17th, and Clarksburg CAC on August 18th.  The Capay Valley CAC met on August 31st. JD Trebec, Senior Planner, facilitated the CAC discussions, and a summary of comments is provided below.

The Esparto CAC had five members in attendance voting unanimously to recommend the Zoning Code Amendment with proposed changes as follows:

• Require a Minor Use Permit for all freestanding cell tower facilities, regardless of tower height.  Note: This recommendation exceeds current requirements which allow for towers 80 feet in height or less through Site Plan Review on agricultural parcels greater than 20 acres in size.
• Require a Minor Use Permit for all energy storage systems, regardless of size, and require noise levels to be measured from the nearest property whether or not an offsite residence is present.
• No proposed changes to the updated Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Section 8-2.1104).

The Dunnigan CAC had five members in attendance and voted 4 to 1 to recommend the Zoning Code Amendment with proposed changes as follows:

• Increase the kilowatts (Kw) allowed for small accessory use ground-mounted solar energy systems and require no maximum Kw for small accessory use roof-mounted systems. Note: The standards set for the small accessory use ground-mounted and roof-mounted solar energy systems comply with AB 2188 provisions for permit streamlining. Following the recommendation, staff made some minor changes to the permitting requirements for clarity. See Table 8-2.1104 in Attachments A (redlined version) and B (clean version w/ staff edits) for allowed and permitted requirements related to accessory ground-mounted and roof-mounted solar energy systems.
• Require Major Use Permit for energy storage systems over 1 megawatt (MW).
• No proposed changes to the Wireless Telecommunication Facilities Ordinance (Section 8-2.1102).

The Clarksburg CAC had four members in attendance and voted 3 to 1 to recommend the Zoning Code Amendment with proposed changes as follows:

• Require agricultural mitigation for solar energy and energy storage projects on non-prime farmland, as well as development fees. Note: Current standards require utility solar energy systems that are not considered agricultural uses to comply with the Agricultural Conservation and Mitigation Program; the proposed amendments would not change the requirement.
• Remove the tower height setback requirement for telecommunication facilities to reduce impacts to agriculture and agricultural operations.
• Base the permitting requirements for energy storage systems on megawatt (MW) rather than acreage and require a use permit for battery storage systems greater than 1MW. Note: Staff concurs with this recommendation and has made the relevant changes to the new Energy Storage Systems Ordinance (see Att. B).

The Capay Valley CAC had four members in attendance but did not meet a quorum. However, the committee reviewed the draft amendments and provided the following feedback;

• Commented that the ordinances were too technical in nature to comment in depth.
• Supportive of 'streamlining' solar energy uses.
• Supported small cell tower height increase, but noted the potential for visual consequences. Note: The proposed edits to Section 8-2.1102 provide for consideration of stealth design elements in designated scenic corridors.
• Expressed concern about energy storage system height limits.

Staff coordinated extensively with Sol Smart, a national organization dedicated to assisting cities, counties, and regional organizations to make solar energy affordable and easy to permit. Sol Smart offers technical assistance as well as a national designation program that recognizes local governments that have taken key steps to address local barriers for fostering solar energy growth. Sol Smart assisted staff with clarifying regulations and provided suggestions for simplifying the permitting process to ensure 'small accessory use' and 'accessory' solar energy system regulations were better defined.

Prior to conducting the Planning Commission workshop, staff reached out to the community for feedback. Public comments received to date include responses from Chad Roberts (see attached email in Attachment D), Office of Emergency Services (no issues), and the Delta Protection Commission (Att. D). Once staff receives direction from the Planning Commission as to further changes to Article 11, a final proposed draft will be prepared and considered for recommendation by the Planning Commission at a future duly noticed public hearing.

Staff will continue to work with County Counsel to address legal adequacy for all proposed zoning changes.

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