(Disclosure: Rose law Group represents utility scale solar developers working with The City of Eloy on this ordinance.)
By Michael Maresh | Eloy Enterprise
ELOY — The Eloy City Council on Monday night amended its zoning code for solar installations to ban it in a major growth corridor.
On June 28, the Eloy Planning and Zoning Commission recommended to the council the so-called “Black Option” to retain a 2,640-foot buffer from Interstate 10 and 2,200 feet from the Sunshine Boulevard interchange and to allow the buffer distance to follow the lines of a piece of property to result in no loss of use on the property.
However, city staff proposed the Blue Option, which represents a distance of 2,200 feet from I-10 and 2,500 from the Sunshine Boulevard interchange and to utilize existing parcels and ownership, which would result in a loss of 71 acres of eligible land.
Councilmember Michelle McKinley-Tarango made a motion to go with the Blue Option, but it was voted down 4-3. A second motion to go with the Black Option was approved by a vote of 5-2.
Councilmember Jose Garcia said he had seen the solar projects near Interstate 10 and wondered how they would be removed if they proved not to be beneficial.
Community Development Director Jon Vlaming said the main difference between the two options is the Blue Option would result in the reduction of 71 acres from solar use.
“After many months of working closely with the City of Eloy on behalf of several national solar developers, we are thrilled that the City adopted a solar ordinance that permits pending projects to move forward. The final ordinance is the result of multiple compromises between the industry and the City that will result in the City getting more of the benefits of the significant solar investments while putting standards in place to uniformly govern growth.” –Court Rich, director of Rose Law Group’s renewable energy and utility infrastructure department
