A. Solar panels shall be permitted as a rooftop installation in any zoning district. The solar panels shall not exceed a height of 12 inches from the rooftop. In no event shall the placement of the solar panels result in a total height, including building and panels, in excess of that which is permitted in that particular zone for the principal building.
B. Solar panels shall be permitted as ground arrays in the AP (Agriculture Production District), AP/CLI (Agricultural Production/Compatible Light Industry District) and nonresidential zoning districts, in accordance with the following:
[Amended 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 13-2019]
(1) All ground arrays shall be set back a distance in conformance with the bulk standards for accessory structures in commercial districts as provided herein.
(2) Ground arrays shall not be permitted in the HB, Downtown and Gateway Districts.
(3) Ground arrays shall be located so that any glare is directed away from an adjoining property that contains either a residential or nonresidential structure. If the ground arrays cannot be situated in such a way to avoid any glare on an adjoining property which contains either a residential or other structure designed for human occupancy then the Applicant shall be required to install screening along the property line to the satisfaction of the Town Planner.
(4) Ground arrays shall not exceed a height of 15 feet.
(5) Ground arrays shall be structures included in the calculation of lot coverage. The lot coverage including ground arrays shall not exceed the permitted lot coverage within a zoning district.
C. Ground arrays shall be permitted as a Conditional Use in the PA (Preservation Area District), SAP (Special Agriculture Production District), RR (Rural Residential District), R-1 (Residential-1 District), R-2 (Residential-2 District) and R-3 (Residential-3 District) only, in accordance with the following conditions:
[Added 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 13-2019]
(1) Minimum lot size shall be 65,340 square feet.
(2) All ground arrays shall be set back from property boundaries a distance in conformance with the bulk standards for principal structures.
(3) Ground arrays shall be located so that any glare is directed away from an adjoining property that contains either a residential or nonresidential structure. Glare angles must be provided at the time of submission or the application will not be complete.
(4) Ground arrays shall not exceed a height of 15 feet.
(5) Ground arrays shall be structures included in the calculation of lot coverage. The lot coverage including ground arrays shall not exceed the permitted lot coverage within a zoning district.
(6) Ground arrays shall not be closer to any street line adjoining the lot upon which the array is placed, than the rearmost point of the principal structure. Nor shall ground arrays be closer to the street line than the front most point of the principal structure on any adjoining property.
(7) Ground arrays shall be located a minimum of 100 feet from any occupied structures on adjoining lots, and a minimum of 50 feet from the house on the property in question.
(8) Tree clearing required for ground mount arrays must be first approved by the Environmental Commission before being permitted as part of any application for a ground mounted solar array.
(9) All required buffers shall be met.
(10) A four foot high fence shall be required around all solar array facilities, including inverter equipment and any conveyance systems not buried, or any part of which is less than ten feet in height. The fence will be set back a minimum distance of five feet from any part of the solar array and be designed and constructed to prevent unwanted entry into the solar array area.
D. An applicant for development of a solar energy system shall submit the following items to the Board Secretary:
[Added 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 13-2019]
(1) Updated survey of the property in question, showing all bulk standards in the form of a chart on the survey attesting to the compliance or non-compliance with the bulk standards for the district in which the ground mounted array is proposed.
(2) A site plan shall be required for all applications for ground mount solar arrays under this section, in accordance with § 175-69.
(3) Location of all trees equal to or greater than 4.5 inches diameter at breast height (dbh) which the applicant intends to clear for the proposed ground mount solar array.
(4) An aerial map using publicly available mapping, to scale with subject property shown with distances to adjoining residential structures marked to clearly identify existing site features. Scale of this map shall not result in an image size smaller than 1'-100'.
(5) Glare angles clearly shown on the survey or aerial map.
(6) Ground Array plotted on scaled site plan in accordance with § 175-69, with dimensions, setbacks, coverage, height, shown in a zoning chart/bulk standards table.
(7) A structural analysis of the roof upon which solar panels would otherwise be placed in compliance with this section, signed and sealed by a New Jersey Licensed Professional Engineer or Architect analyzing the roof load of a rooftop solar array, and analyzing whether or not the roof has sufficient structural strength to hold up a rooftop solar array.
(8) Conditional use checklist filled out with all checks in boxes. Any conditions (boxes) not filled in will be deemed to be non-compliant, requiring a variance application under NJSA 40:55D-70(d)(3).
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