A proposed ordinance that would regulate battery storage facilities in Santa Maria is heading to the City Council following a recommendation from the Planning Commission. The measure comes after a January battery plant fire in Monterey County sparked safety concerns.
The ordinance would limit Battery Energy Storage Systems in Santa Maria to industrial zones and require them to be at least a quarter-mile from homes, schools and hospitals. To be approved, developers would also need a special permit and a fire safety plan.
City Planner Frank Albro said unlike Morro Bay, which recently banned battery facilities altogether, this proposal strikes a balance.
“We felt that that would be the most appropriate way to protect the community and also still have an opening for these types of facilities to make an application and prove to the community, to the city, to the commission, that it's an appropriate facility in an appropriate location,” Albro said.
The Santa Maria City Council has not specified when it will discuss the ordinance.
