The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board will discuss and make a recommendation to the city council on amendments to the Mesa City Code pertaining to Battery Energy Storage Systems at their upcoming meeting.
The meeting begins with a 3 p.m. study session Oct. 22 at 20 E. Main St.
Battery energy storage systems, or BESS, can provide stability to power grids during outages, emergencies or peak demand hours.
However, the city cannot just 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 that 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 would be 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.
Kopaskie-Brown held two meetings open to the public, one that was in-person on Oct. 1 and one via Zoom on Oct. 13. During the Zoom meeting, Mesa resident Jeanne Blaes asked a question about environmental impact as a result of possible leakage from batteries degrading over time, also reported in another Mesa Independent article.
“What about environmental impact or possible leakage into water tables from degradation of batteries?” Blaes asked.
Kopaskie-Brown clarified that the facilities will plan for battery degradation.
“The batteries are swapped out. As they lose capacity, that degradation is going to happen on an ongoing basis,” Kopaskie-Brown explained. “That augmentation plan will help to take care to make sure that the batteries aren’t degraded and creating environmental hazards.”
At the Oct. 6 study session, Council Member Francisco Heredia asked if Mesa has researched other nearby communities in the Valley that have been using battery storage.
“This is an evolving topic as communities and companies start looking to build more battery storage. Have we researched other communities based on the standards we’re talking about today?” Heredia asked.
Kopaskie-Brown said they’ve looked around the state, but pointed out that this is an emerging technology across the country.
“We’ve done a lot of research on what other jurisdictions are doing, not only in Arizona, but across the country because this is an emerging technology,” Kopaskie-Brown said. “We’ve looked at Surprise in the process of working on an ordinance, Buckeye is getting close to adopting theirs, we’ve looked at several jurisdictions in California that are doing ordinances.”
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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