Board to confirm changes of Amendments to the Building Ordinance and the Solar Energy Moratorium Ordinance that were made at the January 5^th Meeting

Planning Board Hearing

Subject of the Hearing:

The Starks Planning Board is proposing two ordinances for the March 11^th town meeting ballot referendum. These will be presented at the public hearing. The Board is seeking public input on these ordinances. Copies of the proposed ordinances can be obtained off the Town’s website (https://www.starksme.com) or picked up at the Town Office. Anyone wishing to submit written comments should do so prior to the January 19^th hearing, so your comments can be considered at the public hearing. Either email your comments with “Planning Board” in the subject line to townofstarks@gmail.com or drop off a paper copy at the Town Office.

Summary: This ordinance amends the existing Building Ordinance adopted in 1988. The amendments maintain many of the existing requirements, such as the 1-acre minimum lot size and the building/structure setbacks. The amendments also clarify and update many of the ordinance provisions, such as what requires a building permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, a new section to address nonconforming conditions, and other provisions to improve the overall integrity of the ordinance.

Summary: The moratorium ordinance is designed to give the Planning Board and the Town time to develop regulations to address the increasing demand for commercial solar energy facilities larger than 10,000 sq. ft. in size. The moratorium prohibits the acceptance of any new applications for solar energy facilities for 180 days. It also gives the Board of Selectmen the power to extend the moratorium to provide adequate time for the development of regulations to address solar energy facilities.