Solar Ordinance Public Hearing Set For June 3

Following several lengthy discussions to work out the details of a proposed solar ordinance to regulate both private and commercial installations of solar panels with Bedminster Township, the Township Committee has set a date of June 3 for a public hearing and final vote on the measure.

The ordinance to specify what will and will not be allowed for installations of solar panels — even in different sections of the township — was introduced at Monday's meeting with no significant changes.

The public can comment on the final version of the ordinance when it is presented at that meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, June 3, at 1 Miller Lane in Bedminster.

As decided at the discussion at the April meeting, no parking canopies topped with solar panels will be allowed at The Hills Village Center off Hills Drive and Route 202/206, or at the commercial center on the opposite side of Hills Drive.

Mayor Steve Parker said he alone had voted to allow the parking canopies at the planned developments off Hills Drive, particularly on the side opposite the shopping center, which is office space.

But Committeewoman Carolyn Freeman, a Hills resident, said at the April meeting that she would not like to see the canopies in the parking lot of the shopping center.

“They’re not really appealing,” she said, adding that the parking lot is close to residential areas. “They should be put where they’re appropriate. I can’t imagine people will want to see parking lot canopies.”

Freeman also pointed out that the township regulates the size of signs and lighting at the shopping center, and has also required the parking lot to be landscaped.

Township Committee members prevously said that the property owners have the option of applying to the Land Use Board for relief from zoning laws if they want to install parking canopies.

Since then, the township Land Use Board also gave a green light for the ordinance to proceed, ruling that the proposed regulations were "not inconsistent with the Master Plan" governing township zoning.