AriSEIA Sends Additional Comments on Surprise BESS Ordinance

Mayor and Members of the City Council
City of Surprise
16000 N. Civic Center Plaza
Surprise, AZ 85374
 
Re: City of Surprise Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Text Amendment – Goodyear Ordinance and Setback Framework
 
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers,
 
AriSEIA appreciates the ongoing engagement with the City of Surprise on the BESS ordinance and the meaningful progress that has been made through four rounds of comments and multiple public meetings. We are writing today to bring one additional and timely development to the City’s attention as deliberations continue.
 
The City of Goodyear recently adopted a BESS ordinance that we believe offers a compelling and directly applicable model for Surprise. The Goodyear ordinance establishes a 330-foot setback from residential areas as a baseline while building in a mechanism that allows that setback to be reduced to 150 feet when an applicant submits a plume and toxic gas study as part of the special use permit process. You can review the Goodyear ordinance here.[1]
 
This approach is notable because it takes safety seriously by tying the setback to the actual science. A plume study is a site-specific technical analysis of potential emissions dispersion in the event of an incident, which means the setback reflects real conditions at a real site rather than a uniform standard applied regardless of context. Second, it creates a clear and administratively manageable pathway for projects that can demonstrate equivalent safety through that analysis.
 
AriSEIA’s consistent position has been that a maximum of 150 feet, consistent with NFPA guidance and the Planning and Zoning Commission’s own recommendation, is the appropriate baseline. We believe 330 feet with a plume study pathway to 150 feet, as Goodyear has adopted, is a reasonable middle ground that Surprise’s municipal neighbors have already found workable. What we do not support is a blanket setback that bears no relationship to the safety literature, peer jurisdictions, or  the actual characteristics of a given site.
 
AriSEIA also wishes to draw the City’s attention to the waiver provision included in Goodyear’s BESS ordinance. Section 3.11.20 (B)(7)2 of Goodyear’s recently adopted Zoning Ordinance allows any requirement with the BESS section to be waived through the special use permit process. This kind of administrative flexibility allows the City to establish a clear standard while preserving the City’s ability to respond to projects that meet underlying safety objectives through alternative means. AriSEIA encourages Surprise to incorporate similar waiver language into its own BESS ordinance, ensuring that staff and decision-makers retain the discretion to evaluate projects on their own merits rather than being bound by provisions that may not fit every circumstance.
 
We respectfully request that Surprise look closely at what Goodyear has done and consider whether a similar framework consisting of a baseline setback with a pathway for reduction (via plume study or a waiver provision for exceptional circumstances) would give Surprise the protection it is appropriately seeking while still establishing an ordinance that responsible projects can meet.
 
We appreciate the opportunity to continue engaging with the City of Surprise and look forward to working collaboratively toward an ordinance that reflects best practices and supports responsible energy infrastructure development.
 
Respectfully,
/s/ Autumn T. Johnson
Executive Director
AriSEIA 
(520) 240-4757
[email protected]

[1] City of Goodyear, Zoning Ordinance, P.72, available here https://www.goodyearaz.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33651/639192003214330000
2 Id. at 75.