Vote — approved

Jack Sellers	yes
Thomas Galvin	yes
Bill Gates	yes
Clint Hickman	yes
Steve Gallardo	yes

Ayes: Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Steve Gallardo

Item Text

7. GRAND VERDE ENERGY SOLAR PROJECT Case #: Z240007 Supervisor District: 5 Applicant & Owner: Dylan Ikkala, APEX Clean Energy / Arizona State Land Department Request: Zone change with overlay from Rural-190 and Rural-43 to IND-2 IUPD Site Location: Generally located one mile north of the northwest corner of Highway 85 and Riggs Rd. in the Buckeye area Commission Recommendation: On 11/7/24, the Commission voted 8-0 to adopt a motion recommending the Board of Supervisors approve Z240007 subject to conditions ‘a’ – ‘u’: a. Development of the site shall be in substantial conformance with the Zoning Exhibit entitled “Grand Verde Energy“, consisting of one full-size sheet, dated September 10, 2024, and stamped received September 13, 2024, except as modified by the following conditions. b. Development of the site shall be in substantial conformance with the narrative report entitled “Grand Verde Energy Solar Project”, consisting of 20 pages, dated September 2024, and stamped received September 13, 2024, except as modified by the following conditions. c. The landowner or developer shall coordinate with the Arizona Game & Fish Department in each phase of development to determine best management practices to minimize impacts on the area’s wildlife. The landowner or developer shall coordinate with the Arizona Game & Fish Department to determine the appropriate wildlife surveys, habitat surveys, and/or requests that will need to be conducted during the development of the site. d. The following Planning Engineering comments shall apply: 1. Any new site improvements will require a Plan of Development. The Plan of Development submittal shall require a Grading and Drainage Plan sealed by a civil engineer registered in the state of Arizona to show conformance to the County Drainage Regulations. 2. Without the submittal of a Plan of Development, no development approval will be inferred by the engineering review, including, but not limited to drainage design, access and roadway alignments. These items will be addressed as development plans progress and are submitted to the County for further review and/or entitlement. 3. Any Plan of Development must provide for the required retention volume for the 100 year, two hour storm event, plus one foot of freeboard, for the developed area. Provide documentation that the retention basin(s) will drain within 36 hours. (MCZO 1205.7.6-2.a & c). a. Provide a runoff coefficient based on Table 6.3 of the Maricopa County Drainage Policies and Standards. Solar facilities of this nature typically come in at C = 0.65 - 0.7. b. Historic inflow and outflow drainage locations and characteristics must be maintained. 4. The site contains regulated floodplain(s) associated with the Rainbow Wash and its tributaries. Any work in the floodplain will require a Floodplain Use Permit issued (through the Planning and Development Department) concurrent with building permit(s) required for site development. a. Scour analysis will be required for any pole or similar structure in the floodplain. b. Underground utilities crossing the floodplain must be buried below the calculated scour depth or otherwise protected from scour (i.e. concrete encasement). 5. A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) or waiver therefrom shall be required as part of any plan of development application for this project. MCDOT may require dedication or preservation of rights-of-way (R/W) of the section (up to 130 feet) and mid-section (up to 80 feet) alignments adjacent to or through the development site. This determination will be made during the TIS review process. All perimeter section line and mid-section line alignments required to be preserved or dedicated as part of the proposed development require the setback lines to start from a future half street Right-of-Way of 55- and 40-feet (respectively) per the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance Section 11-05. 6. Private utilities that will occupy County R/W require a license in addition to any construction related permits. This license or waiver therefrom is required prior to issuance of building permits. 7. Given the site’s proximity, disturbance within or access to SR-85, the applicant shall inquire of any concerns with ADOT via their red-letter process (email redletter@azdot.gov). 8. Engineering review of planning and/or zoning cases is for conceptual design only. All development and engineering design shall be in conformance with Section 1205 of the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance; Drainage Policies and Standards; Floodplain Regulations for Maricopa County; MCDOT Roadway Design Manual; and current engineering policies, standards and best practices at the time of application for construction. 9. All plans and reports should be developed and formatted to document that the project is designed to meet all County regulations, ordinances, and design standards. It is incumbent upon the engineer to demonstrate compliance with all regulatory requirements and County design standards. e. The following requested IND-2 IUPD zoning district development standards shall apply: 1. There shall be no required yards or minimum setbacks for solar panel arrays, but no structure shall overhang a property line or encroach within any right-of-way. 2. There shall be no required loading/unloading spaces. 3. Photovoltaic solar panel arrays shall not contribute to lot coverage calculations. 4. Within sight-visibility triangles at any intersection on-site chain link fences without screening materials can exceed a height of two feet. 5. Photovoltaic solar panel arrays and associated utility uses shall not be enclosed in a building. 6. Alternative surfacing materials or other methods approved by Maricopa County Air Quality to minimize dust pollution shall be allowed in driveways and parking areas. 7. A minimum of six-foot tall chain link fences and gates without screening materials with one foot of barbed wire attached to the top shall be allowed adjacent to any zoning district. 8. Attached barbed wire or concertina wire shall be permitted under a height of eight feet for fences and gates but shall remain prohibited above a height of eight feet. 9. Structures that support high tension electric lines shall have a maximum height of 150 feet. 10. Battery energy storage systems shall be setback from all lot lines a minimum of 100 feet from battery units to any lot line. 11. The battery energy storage system component of this site shall be screened from any public roadway with a combination of minimum six foot tall solid wall and landscaping, as approved by the County Planning and Development Director or designee. f. The IND-2 zoning is subject to an Industrial Planned Unit Development (IUPD) zoning overlay that limits the entitled uses to solar power generation facilities and ancillary uses, or other uses determined by both the Planning & Development Department and the Environmental Services Department as appropriate and that can accommodate wastewater disposal via an on-site septic systems until such time as a sanitary sewer is available serving the site. The IUPD may be deleted or amended to entitle additional uses via a Modification of Condition application to the Planning & Zoning Commission. g. Prior to the submittal of any plan of development of this site, archaeological surveys must be submitted to Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and a copy of the result reports shall be submitted with any plan of development for this site. h. All outdoor lighting shall be in compliance with Section 1112 of the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance. Any outdoor lighting shall be placed to reflect light away from any adjoining rural or residential zoning district. i. During construction, the treatment of weeds on the site shall be removed manually and the use of herbicide to treat weeds must only be used in extreme cases. j. Where necessary, any portions of the fencing (including attached barbed wire) that exceed the maximum eight foot fence height to allow for gaps at the fences base to enable wildlife movement or drainage shall be allowed on this site. k. Any temporary facilities, such as office trailers, laydown yards, containers, constriction warehousing structures, parking areas, and equipment storage areas must be removed once construction is completed on this site. l. The developer shall work closely with the Arizona Fire and Medical Authority to formalize a site-specific Emergency Response Plan for the facility. m. The developer must coordinate with local fire departments and emergency responders with fire responses services for this site. Such coordination must include, but be not limited to emergency response drills, site walk-thru, and locations of equipment, understanding of roles/responsibilities associated with fire/emergency response. n. The battery energy storage system facility shall be compliant with the latest UL9540a and NFPA 855 requirements or any related future requirements to ensure the safe operation of the facility. Additionally, the facility shall utilize advance data analytics to assess and monitor the health of the battery system, to provide advanced warning of any potentially degraded battery cells and routine inspection for water ingress shall be performed for all battery energy storage systems. Dry pipes must not be utilized in the battery storage containers to avoid thermal runaway exposure to personnel or first responders. o. There shall be no disturbance or development within the area delineated in the legal description provided in Attachment A of the Narrative Report, other than access driveways, transmission lines, gen-tie lines, underground collection lines, and/or other similar facilities as approved by the County Planning and Development Department and County Flood Control District. p. The developer/applicant shall submit, during any plan of development on this site, a copy of the narrative report and site plan for the specific plan of development to the Department of Defense Siting Clearinghouse for Energy, Installations, and Environment for review at the following link: osd.dod-sitting-clearinghouse@mail.mil. q. Administrative approval of a Plan of Development will be required prior to approval and issuance of construction permits to develop and establish use of the site. Prior to the issuance of a building permit, written confirmation shall be required from the emergency fire protection jurisdiction having authority that the facility has been designed in accordance with their regulations and requirements and that emergency fire protection service will be provided to the facility. Prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy, local fire protection jurisdiction review and approval will be required. r. Amendment to the zone change shall be processed as a revised application in accordance with Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance requirements. s. The property owner/s and their successors waive claim for diminution in value if the County takes action to rescind approval due to noncompliance with conditions. t. Noncompliance with any Maricopa County Regulation shall be grounds for initiating a revocation of this Zone Change as set forth in the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance. u. The granting of this change in use of the property has been at the request of the applicant, with the consent of the landowner. The granting of this approval allows the property to enjoy uses in excess of those permitted by the zoning existing on the date of application, subject to conditions. In the event of the failure to comply with any condition, the property shall be considered for reversion to the zoning that existed on the date of application. It is, therefore, stipulated and agreed that either revocation due to the failure to comply with any conditions, does not reduce any rights that existed on the date of application to use, divide, sell, or possess the property and that there would be no diminution in value of the property from the value it held on the date of application due to such revocation of the Zone Change. The Zone Change enhances the value of the property above its value as of the date the Zone Change is granted and reverting to the prior zoning results in the same value of the property as if the Zone Change had never been granted. (C-44-25-055-X-00)

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