TOWN OF RIVERHEAD
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held before the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead at 200 Howell Avenue, Riverhead, New York on the 5th day of August, 2014 at 2:05 o’clock p.m. to consider a local law to amend chapter 108 of the Riverhead Town Code entitled “Zoning” as follows:
CHAPTER 108
ZONING
§108-3 Definitions.
Commercial Solar Energy Production System – an arrangement or combination of components installed upon land that utilize solar radiation to produce energy designed to provide electricity for on-site or off-site use pursuant to a power purchase agreement.
§108-54 Municipal Buildings, hospitals, public utility buildings and structures.
B.Public utility buildings and structures shall be permitted in all districts when approved by special permit of the Town Board upon a finding upon a finding by the Board that adequate buffers exist to minimize impacts upon adjacent parcels and taking into account, among other things, the existing and permitted uses in the surrounding community. Commercial Solar Energy Production System shall not be permitted in any district except those districts as provided in Article XL of this Chapter.
Article XL Commercial Solar Energy Production Systems
§108-208 Purpose.
It is the intention of the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead as part of its goal to limit dependence on imported fossil energy, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions to permit commercial solar energy production systems in the Industrial zoning use districts to minimize impacts to residents and scenic viewsheds important to the community.
Commercial solar energy production systems shall be allowed as permitted use in the Light Industrial (LI) Zoning Use District, Industrial A (IA) Zoning Use District, Industrial B District (General Industry) and the Planned Industrial Park (PIP) District. Commercial solar energy production systems shall be allowed with special permit approval in the Industrial C (IC) Zoning Use District.
§108-209 Use regulations.
Commercial Solar Energy Production System shall be permitted as a permitted use or as allowed with special permit approval as provided in section 108-208. In addition to the requirements set forth in this Chapter, all such permitted and special permit uses shall be subject to the following criteria and subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board:
(a)The commercial solar energy system shall be on a parcel of not less than five (5) acres.
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All ground-mounted panels shall not exceed the height of eight (8′) feet.
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All mechanical equipment of commercial solar energy system, including any structure for batteries or storage cells, are completely enclosed bv a minimum eight (8) foot high fence with a self-locking gate.
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Notwithstanding any requirement in Sections 108-49, 108-136, 108-231, 108-275 and 108-279 of this Chapter, the total surface area of all ground-mounted and freestanding solar collectors, including solar photovoltaic cells, panels, and arrays, shall not exceed 80% of the total parcel area.
(e)The installation of a vegetated perimeter buffer to provide year round screening of the system from adjacent properties.
(f) All solar energy production systems are designed and located in order to prevent reflective glare toward any habitable buildings as well as streets and rights-of-way.
(g) All on-site utility and transmission lines are, to the extent feasible, placed underground.
(h)The installation of a clearly visible warning sign concerning voltage must be placed at the base of all pad-mounted transformers and substations.
(i)The system is designed and situated to be compatible with the existing uses on adjacent and nearby properties.
(j) In approving a special exception, the Planning Board may waive or modify any of the above criteria if it finds that there is no detriment to public health, safety and welfare.
(k)Any special permit approval granted under this article shall have a term of twenty years, commencing from the grant of the special permit, which may be extended for additional five-year terms upon application to the Town Board.
(1)Decommissioning/Removal:
(i)Any commercial solar energy production system that is not operated for a continuous period of 24 months shall be deemed abandoned. At that time, the owner of the commercial solar energy production system or the owner of the property where the commercial solar energy production system is located shall remove all components thereof within 90 days of such deemed abandonment or will be in violation of this section. In the case of a commercial solar energy production system on preexisting structures, this provision shall apply to the commercial solar energy production system only. If the commercial solar energy production system is not removed within said 90 days, the Building Inspectors may give the owner notice that unless the removal is accomplished within 30 days, the Town will cause the removal at the owner’s expense. All costs and expenses incurred bv the Town in connection with any proceeding or any work done for the removal of a commercial solar energy production system shall be assessed against the land on which such commercial solar energy production system is located, and a statement of such expenses shall be presented to the owner of the property, or if the owner cannot be ascertained or located, then such statement shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. Such assessment shall be and constitute a lien upon such land. If the owner of the system and the owner of the property upon which the system is located shall fail to pay such expenses within 10 days after the statement is presented or posted, a legal action may be brought to collect such assessment or to foreclose such lien. As an alternative to the maintenance of any such action, the Building Inspector may file a certificate of the actual expenses incurred as aforesaid together with a statement identifying the property in connection with which the expenses were incurred and the owner of the system and the owner of the property upon which the system is located, with the Assessors, who shall, in the preparation of the next assessment roll, assess such amount upon such property. Such amount shall be included in the levy against such property, shall constitute a lien and shall be collected and enforced in the same manner, by the same proceedings, at the same time and under the same penalties as are provided by law for the collection and enforcement of real property taxes in the Town of Riverhead.
§108-210 Decommissioning Plan, Fee schedule for commercial solar energy site plan applications.
A. All applications for a commercial solar energy system shall be accompanied by a Decommissioning Plan to be implemented upon abandonment and/or in conjunction with removal of the commercial solar energy system. Before beginning any decommissioning activities, the applicant must submit a performance bond in a form and amount satisfactory to the Town Attorney, which shall be based upon an estimate approved by the Town’s Consulting Engineer or Town Engineer, assuring the availability of adequate funds to restore the site to a useful, non-hazardous condition in accordance with the Decommissioning Plan. Prior to removal of commercial solar energy system, a permit for removal activities shall be obtained from the building department. The Decommissioning Plan shall include the following provisions:
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Restoration of the surface grade and soil after removal of aboveground structures and equipment.
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Restoration of soil areas with native seed mixes, and/or plant species suitable to the area, which shall not include any invasive species.
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Retention of access roads, fences, gates or buildings or buffer plantings, as required at the discretion of the Town.
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Restoration of the site for agricultural crops or forest resource land, as applicable.
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The disposal of all solid and hazardous waste shall be in accordance with all local, state, and federal waste disposal regulations.
(6)An applicant of a commercial solar energy system comprising more than ten (10) acres shall provide a form of surety,either through escrow account, bond or otherwise, to cover the cost of removal in the event theTown must remove the installation and remediate the landscape, in the amount and formdeemed to be reasonable by the Township Engineer. Such surety will not be required forMunicipal or State owned facilities. The applicant of the facility shall submit a fully inclusiveestimate of the cost associated with removal, prepared by a Professional Engineer.
SEVERABILITY
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this Local Law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the judgment shall not affect the validity of this law as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so decided to be unconstitutional or invalid.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State as provided by law.
Dated: Riverhead, NY
July 15, 2014
BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD
OF THE TOWN OF RIVERHEAD
DIANE M. WILHELM, TOWN CLERK
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