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~c~ +Fanda~-E- M Driscoll From: Pat Trudgeon sSent: Friday, April 23, 2010 3:07 PM To: *RVCouncil Subject: FW: Solar permitting and Resolution FYI for Monday night. Patrick Trudgeon, AICP City of Roseville Community Development Director 2660 Civic Center Drive Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 792-7071 (651) 792-7070 (fax) pat.trudgeon(cDci.roseville.mn.us www.ci.roseville.mn.us From: Pat Trudgeon Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 3:06 PM To: 'susan.weum@smiths-medical.com' Cc: Thomas Paschke; Don Munson Subject: FW: Solar permitting and Resolution Susan, Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your input. As you know, we do not have any codes to regulate the placement of solar energy systems and we have scrambled to get something in place to better allow for these systems. Solar energy systems are something that we as a City certainly want to encourage as an option for our residents. Given that doing a whole ordinance could take several months, staff is proposing that the City adopt a policy in the interim to address the installation solar energy systems which as you know will be discussed by the City Council on Monday night. We based the policy over a model ordinance that is used by several cities. We did make some modifications in translating it from an ordinance to a policy. For instance (and the heart of the matter as it relates to your concerns), the model ordinance allows systems with a pitch more than 5% as a Conditional Use (which is a specific land use approval the City Council gives). As we are doing a policy, we cannot mandate that it will be conditional use. ]nstead, we would need to amend the code to state that pitches over 5% are conditional uses.....and then we are back to square one with the timing issue. So instead, we removed the reference to the Conditional Use and instead just said that they were not allowed, in full anticipation that we would allow for greater pitches through some process once the ordinance was worked out in the fall. However, it is apparent that we need to have it addressed as part of the policy now, so in looking at the matter we will suggest to the City Council on Monday night that the policy should be changed to allow for systems with a pitch 5% greater than the pitch of roof after additional review and approval by staff (Any installation of a solar energy system requires a building permit). Specifically the language would be changed to read as follows: Solar Systems with Mounting Devices -Solar systems using roof mounting devices or ground-mount solar systems shall not be restricted if the system is not visible from the closest edge of any public right- of-way other than an alley. Roof-mount systems that are visible from the nearest edge of the street frontage right-of--way shall not have a highest finished pitch more than five (5) percent steeper than the roof pitch on which the system is mounted, and shall be no higher than ten (10) inches above the roof unless the system is reviewed and approved by Community Development staff to ensure the additional pitch of the system meets the wind load standards for the roof and there are not major aesthetic impacts