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Tiverton
Town of Tiverton Zoning Ordinance
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§ XXIV-9

Impaired site ground-mounted solar systems

  • a. This section is intended to promote the development of solar energy systems on parcels previously impaired by certain uses in order to catalyze property remediation and to direct solar energy systems away from forested areas, prime agricultural lands, and properties with high intrinsic value under another use scenario. They include:

    • (1) Remediated and restricted contamination site: A remediated and restricted contamination site is a property: (1) that has been identified and confirmed by RIDEM as having contained a hazardous material contamination; (2) on which remediation activities were conducted to the satisfaction of RIDEM as documented within a "Letter of Compliance" or an "Interim Letter of Compliance;" and (3) for which RIDEM has required the use of the property to be restricted through an environmental land use restriction.

    • (2) Contaminated site pending remediation: A contaminated site pending remediation is a property that has been identified and confirmed by RIDEM as containing a hazardous material contamination through issuance of a "Letter of Responsibility," but which has not yet been remediated to the satisfaction of RIDEM. The intended outcome of permitting a solar energy system on a site pending remediation is to offset the cost of remediation by allowing a beneficial use of the property to occur.

    • (3) Prior legally or legal non-conforming operated landfills, brownfields, quarries, and gravel pits where the use has been permanently abandoned: Such parcels may be deemed an impaired site by the Tiverton Town Council after public hearing, with public notice published, at the applicant's expense, in a paper of general circulation in the town for three consecutive weeks preceding the hearing, after an advisory opinion from the planning board is submitted. The burden of proof of any parcel's previous legal operating status shall be the responsibility of the applicant. To be deemed an impaired site, the applicant must also demonstrate that the parcel is not suitable for redevelopment in accordance with the use table of the zoning district where it is located.

  • b. Applications for an impaired site SES shall include, in addition to the requirements set forth by the Tiverton Planning Board and other requirements of this article, the following, based on the type of contaminated site on which the system is proposed:

    • (1) Systems proposed on a contaminated site pending remediation shall submit: The associated "Letter of Responsibility" and "Remedial Approval Letter" from RIDEM, and all applicable attachments or appendices; a copy of any environmental land use restriction (ELUR) required by RIDEM to be imposed on the contaminated site(s) along with a narrative explaining the content of such restriction; confirmation from RIDEM that a solar energy system is an acceptable use for the contaminated site(s); and a site plan and associated materials delineating the extent of the contamination previously or currently existing on the site(s) and the extent of disturbance that will be required to perform the approved remediation activities, including square footage calculations of said areas compared to the total area of the subject site(s).

    • (2) Systems proposed on a remediated and restricted contamination site(s) shall submit: The associated "Letter of Compliance" or "Interim Letter of Compliance" from RIDEM; a copy of any existing environmental land use restriction (ELUR) required by RIDEM along with a narrative explaining the content of such restriction written confirmation from RIDEM that the proposed contaminated site solar energy system is consistent with the requirements for maintaining compliance; and a site plan and associated materials delineating the extent of the remediation activities and any clearing that was necessary due to remediation activities, including square footage calculations of contaminated areas compared to the total area of the subject site(s).

  • c. Impaired site SES in any zone other than the industrial zone shall not occupy more than 150 percent of the actual contaminated area on the site as recognized by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. For parcels declared by the Tiverton Town Council to be an impaired site, the SES shall not occupy more than 150 percent of the area determined to be unsuitable for redevelopment in accordance with the zoning table. Any calculation so submitted shall be verified by the town's engineer.

  • d. Impaired site SES shall be reviewed and permitted concurrently under Article VII, Major Land Development or Subdivision, and where necessary Article XV, Unified Development Review, of Appendix B, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations.

  • e. In granting approval for an impaired site SES, the planning board shall also make the following findings of fact in granting approval:

    • (1) Permitting use of the parcel for an Impaired Site Solar Energy Systems will:

Allow remediation of a contaminated site by offsetting the cost of such remediation and allowing a beneficial use of the property to occur; or allow an already remedied or otherwise constrained property to be used for renewable energy generation, directing solar energy systems away from less desirable areas, such as forested areas and prime agricultural lands; that the unique conditions of the parcel render it unsuitable for redevelopment in accordance with the use table of the zone where it is located; and that the establishment of the proposed SES will not prevent the normal and orderly use, development or improvement of adjacent properties or uses permitted in the district.

(Ord. of 11-14-22(2); Ord. No. 2024-0013, 9-9-24)