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Review of SolSmart Text Amendment
Zoning & Planning Committee
Title
Review of SolSmart Text Amendment to Toledo Municipal Code Part 11, amending solar regulations; and declaring an emergency.
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SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
In June of this year, Toledo City Council passed a resolution to begin working towards becoming a SolSmart Community. SolSmart is a national designation program designed to recognize cities, towns, counties, and regional organizations for encouraging local solar energy growth through established best practices. SolSmart is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, and the International City/County Management Association, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Energy Technologies Office. Two key parts of the SolSmart Program are: 1) no-cost technical assistance to local governments to increase local knowledge of solar energy, remove local barriers to solar energy use, and promote the use of solar energy; and 2) recognize local governments commitment to solar energy by awarding them with a SolSmart designation of Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze. There are currently twenty (20) local governments and/or organizations in Ohio that are designated SolSmart communities.
The SolSmart Standard Criteria pathway to becoming a designated SolSmart Community includes meeting prerequisites and obtaining a sufficient number of points in each of the following five categories: Permitting and Inspection, Planning and Zoning, Government Operations, Community Engagement, and Market Development. Sustainability Manager, Dana Reising is overseeing the process for the City of Toledo to become a Bronze designated SolSmart Community and is coordinating with the Plan Commission and Building Inspection to achieve this goal. She has worked with city planning staff to review zoning and land use regulations to identify needed amendments to clarify and make transparent those regulations pertaining to solar energy systems. Based on this review and a p...
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