For Class 1 facilities, a high impact land operational permit shall be issued only when the applicant has included in its plan of operation and fully described in its application for a permit the following mandatory provisions:
(A) A vegetative barrier, approved by the Ashe County Board of Commissioners, sufficient in width and all-year existence, to serve as a buffer to lessen the visual impact of the area of operation both at road grade level and from all sides, and provide noise, glare and particulate matter reduction.
(B) Inclusion of a dust-alleviation surface material for roads within, and leading to, the area of operation.
(C) Permanent paving material applied along any exit onto a public roadway for a distance of 100 feet.
(D) A security fence which surrounds the entire area of operation. The material shall be chain link, nine gauge or better, and seven feet in height with one or more strands of barbed or razor wire above the top. A gate that is closed and locked when the facility is not in operation or maintenance being performed shall be part of the security fence.
(E) Solar energy systems, are subject to the following setbacks and requirements:
(1) At least 100 feet from centerline of roads;
(2) At least 50 feet from adjacent properties;
(3) At least 100 feet from adjacent residential property lines;
(4) At least 100 feet from properties containing existing structures, that include homes, barns, sheds, or outbuildings.
(F) Glare. Solar energy systems must be designed, constructed and sited to minimize glare or reflections on adjacent properties and roadways and to not interfere with traffic, including air traffic, or otherwise create a safety hazard.
(G) Abandonment and deconstruction. Solar farms that do not produce energy for a continuous period of one year or more are presumed to have been abandoned unless the failure to produce energy results from a cause outside of the control of the owner/operator of the commercial solar farm.
(1) Any solar farm that has been abandoned must be deconstructed and removed within 18 months unless the period is extended by the Ashe County Board of Commissioners.
(2) A deconstruction plan outlining the anticipated means and costs of removing the solar farm must be submitted, with the high impact land use operational permit application.
(Ord. passed 10-3-16; Am. Ord. passed 7-17-23)