The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board recently voted to recommend the city council make a few changes to the Mesa city code pertaining to battery energy storage systems.
The board voted 3-1 to approve the modified amendment, with board member Jamie Blakeman voting no and board members Jeff Pitcher, Genessee Montes and Chase Farnsowrth absent on Oct. 22.
Battery energy storage systems can provide stability to power grids during outages, emergencies or peak demand hours.
However, the city cannot implement them immediately. Battery energy storage systems are not defined in Mesa’s current zoning code, and Mesa Planning Director Mary Kopaskie-Brown told the council a zoning and fire code amendment is needed for these facilities, as reported in another Mesa Independent article.
“BESS and BESS facilities are an emerging and increasingly prominent land use,” Kopaskie-Brown said during an Oct. 6 council study session. “They have a unique public health and safety consideration that can include but aren’t limited to fire and explosion risks, electric shock risks, environmental impacts if improperly managed or disposed of, and then the emergency-response challenges.”
The planning and zoning board was looking at possible amendments to Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 31, 86, and 87 of the Mesa Zoning Ordinance on the Mesa City Code.
The amendments would mitigate the health, safety and environmental impacts of BESS facilities. It would define battery storage energy systems, facilities, augmentation and nameplate capacity. It would establish criteria for classifying a BESS or BESS facility as either a principal or accessory use, and modify certain land use tables to allow such facilities as either a principal or accessory use. It would also establish additional application requirements, development standards, and operational requirements for facilities.
Lastly, the amendments would make two proposed BESS facilities legal procedurally conforming uses and structures through uncodified Section 15 and 16 of the battery energy storage systems ordinance.
At the Oct. 22 meeting, the planning and zoning board decided to recommend the council change the required separation of BESS facilities from 1,000 square feet from residential zoning districts to 400 square feet after numerous comments from the public.
Mesa resident Nico Howard spoke at the meeting and voiced his concerns. He said the separation requirement effectively become a de facto moratorium against those projects.
“I do have a serious concern about the proposed 1,000 feet setback requirement for BESS. These projects are very limited in where they can be placed and where they can be located,” Howard said. “They must be located near interconnection to the electrical grid, and there are very few places that meet these standards to begin with. But when you overlay a 1,000 feet setback requirement in addition to proximity to interconnection, there are literally no site in the city of Mesa that can satisfy these requirements.”
The board also decided to recommend that the council change the restriction of nameplate capacity of 1,000 kilowatts, or 1 megawatt, for accessory use facilities to 5,000 kilowatts, or 5 megawatts, due to public comment.
Mesa resident Victor Atlasman spoke at the meeting and said he is a director of engineering for an electric vehicle charging infrastructure company. He said he understands the spirit of the amendments but does not support the way it is written, especially with regards to the nameplate capacity.
“Sometimes you might exceed the levels of the 1 megawatt hour simply by just deploying some of this equipment. You don’t have the infrastructure everywhere to deploy, especially in city communities” Atlasman said. “The grid just can’t support the charging infrastructure, and with the way the vehicle market’s growing, there’s a larger demand, especially for residential units, to have access to those high power and high reliable charging stations and they’re going to require these energy storage systems to support the operations of these products. The way the proposal was written today, this amendment would actually go against that and restrict a lot of the community and its residents.”
Board chair Benjamin Ayers, after hearing feedback, proposed to recommend the ordinance to the council with those proposed modifications in mind. The proposal was accepted.
“I would recommend under the facility standards, we change the separation that was previously 1,000 feet back to the original 400 feet,” Ayers said. “Under accessory uses right now, we have a current 1 megawatt restriction as far as max capacity goes. I proposed that we go to a minimum of 5 megawatts but I would ask staff to review that to move forward.”
Kopaskie-Brown said she plans to bring a final draft of the ordinance with a vote for adoption to the council in December.
The seven-member Planning and Zoning Board conducts hearings and make recommendations to the City Council on requests for changes in zoning and on required site plans. It also considers and recommends changes in the city’s long-range plans and in the municipal code concerning planning and zoning matters. Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years.
Connor Van Ligten Reporter | Fountain Hills/Scottsdale
After graduating from Arizona State University's Cronkite School in spring 2022, Connor Van Ligten spent a little over year as a reporter for WWL-TV in New Orleans before finding themselves back in Phoenix in October of 2023. Now back in the Valley and writing for the Mesa Independent and the Daily Independent, Connor is ready to tell meaningful stories and report on important civic issues facing Mesa. Connor is a big fan of the 49ers, Warriors, pro wrestling, anime, dogs and fighting video games.
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