Ordinance restricts solar panels

Apr 1 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Andrew McGill The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

It's official: Just months after the solar panel horse ran to Upper Nazareth, Lower Nazareth has closed the barn door.

Passing a long-debated solar panel ordinance Wednesday night, the township drastically strengthened restrictions on arrays, virtually ruling out any large power-producing structure. The enactment comes two months after the Nazareth Area School District moved a proposed 1,000-panel project to Upper Nazareth Township amid a lawsuit and public dissent.

The ordinance all but outlaws commercial solar arrays, confines any ground-based system to just 5 percent of the total lot, and largely prohibit buildings from generating more power than they need.

Ground-based systems can't be more than 12 feet high and must be set back 75 feet from residential properties. If panels are mounted on a roof, they can't rise higher than 1 foot above a sloped roof and 6 feet above a flat roof.

The township's former ordinance faced fierce criticism during the spat with the school district, derided for its loose wording and permissiveness. Although revision started before the controversy began, the township certainly took some pointers from the ongoing litigation.

The only change from a draft presented in January specifically called out the power production of ground-mounted energy arrays, barring them from generating more electricity their associated building needs. The final draft is the product of months of writing and rewriting, officials said.

"This has gone through multiple revisions," Township Manager Timm Tenges said.

The ordinance was passed unanimously. No one appeared on behalf of the school district, though Director of Facilities and Operations Lewis Lengyl attended as a resident.

Tenges said in January that the ordinance wasn't written to rebuke the district. He's more concerned about controlling commercial developers who want to incorporate solar panels into their buildings, he said.

andrew.mcgill@mcall.com

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