Proposed revisions to the current ordinance

The Township Committee is pleased to report that revisions to the Solar Ordinance #953 are progressing. Both the Township Attorney and Township Planner have passed on the suggested edits and a final draft is in process for the Township Committee to review before introduction.

Historic context about the need for regulation of solar panels in the Township

Imagine coming home to find your neighbor has clear-cut their backyard to make way for the installation of 36 ground-mounted solar arrays. That really happened in a residential neighborhood in 2025. The neighbors were rightfully angry and upset by destruction of trees, degradation of their property values and ground-mounted arrays being visible from the road and neighboring properties. These residents came to several Township Committee meetings to express their concerns and request regulations to prevent this environmental destruction from happening elsewhere in the Township.

At that time, the Township had no ordinances in place to regulate solar panels and arrays so there was little the Township could do to control these arrays. Citing the need for such reasonable regulation, the Township Committee introduced an ordinance to Regulate the Safe, Effective and Efficient Use of Solar Panels and Solar Arrays in October 2025.

A select group of residents took issue with the ordinance as it prohibited ground-mounted solar arrays and wind turbines from residential properties. Concerns as to the ordinance were voiced at the public hearing and the Township Committee took the residents’ comments into consideration. The ordinance was adopted so regulation was in place and then-Mayor Honan announced after the vote that the Township Committee would review the ordinance in 2026 for revisions consistent with the concerns raised.

Ordinance review and recommendations

In early 2026, a review committee was formed consisting of two Township Committee members, a Planning Board member and two citizen representatives to review the ordinance and make recommendations for revisions to the ordinance.

The Township Committee’s goal was to present a responsible, good-neighbor ordinance, which also supports smart, clean, renewable energy in the Township and protects our trees and the environment. The revised ordinance would allow for ground-mounted solar arrays with notice to neighboring properties and an opportunity for those property owners to voice their opinions and concerns at a public forum.

After several months of review and revisions, the review committee was satisfied with the draft ordinance, and it was presented to the Township professionals for review. The Township Committee is encouraged by the suggested revisions to the solar ordinance that are consistent with concerns raised at the December public hearing.

The Township Committee thanks the members of the review committee for their time and effort working together to craft revisions to the ordinance to make it more compatible with the goal of responsible, renewable energy that does not devalue neighboring property values.