The town of Fenner will continue a public hearing on a proposed local law regulating solar facilities at its meeting on July 14. The public hearing will begin at 8:15 at Fenner Town Hall.
The law would regulate small solar systems that are intended for individual residences, businesses and farms. The town’s prohibition on large-scale commercial solar facilities will continue.
The law is born out of a number of recommendations from the town’s solar committee, Fenner Town Supervisor Dave Jones said.
For ground mounted system, the law sets a maximum height of 12 feet and stipulates that ground mounted systems can not be placed in residents’ front yards. It also sets the maximum size of the system at no larger than the largest structure on the property and requires the neighbor’s view of ground mounted systems to be buffered by landscaping or fencing.
For firefighter and emergency responder safety purposes, rooftop solar units must have a perimeter along the edge of the roof that would provide firefighters access to the roof and an opportunity to ventilate potential fires.
The law also states that solar installations that have been inactive for 12 months must be removed.
“It is the intent of this local law to establish regulations regarding the design, placement, construction and operation of small scale solar energy systems as an accessory use while continuing the prohibition of large scale solar farms that adversely impact the town and its residents,” the law states.
