Solar approved for rural lands around Petaluma

Rural land surrounding Petaluma's city borders could soon become home to commercial-grade renewable energy projects after the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to allow such installations on county farmlands.

The decision permits projects on about 140,000 acres of that land that was previously restricted to agriculture, including a parcel of land at Frates and Adobe roads, where an application for a 23-acre solar installation has been proposed. It also creates tighter regulations that limit the size of installations and requires rezoning before projects can be built.

In response to concerns from Petaluma city officials about placing such installations on lands the city specifically has designated as scenic corridors - like the Frates Road site - the county created tighter regulations than were originally proposed when the zoning change first came before the Board of Supervisors earlier this year.

As opposed to simply receiving a simple permit to build a commercial installation, as was previously suggested, renewable energy projects, like large-scale solar installations, must now must meet more stringent requirements - steps that Petaluma's County Supervisor David Rabbitt said are critical to protecting Petaluma's scenery from over-development.

"We didn't want to lose prime agricultural land we've worked for more than two decades to protect, but we also want to encourage additional renewable energy projects in the county," Rabbit said Tuesday evening after the meeting. "It's not the easiest thing to balance, but the additional requirements for rezoning and public input have made these projects more open to scrutiny so that they wind up in the appropriate spots."

This zoning change comes at a time when the county is working to launch its own power agency with an emphasis on adding more renewable energy projects throughout the county. Rabbitt said that there is plenty of agricultural land that is suitable for large-scale energy projects - land that is hidden away from the public's view from main roads into the city. He said that the extra layers of oversight would help ensure these commercial projects are strategically placed throughout the county.

"We made it more restrictive and a more difficult process to go through," said Rabbitt. "It gives the message to land owners that they can do this, but they will have to work for it. The whole idea is to remove hurdles and increase renewable power, but balance that with protecting agricultural land, open spaces and scenic vistas. We did that in the best way we possibly could."

(Contact Janelle Wetzstein at janelle.wetzstein@argusoucier.com)