[a] Utility notification: submission of documentation from the utility company that operates the electrical grid where the installation is to be located confirming that the grid can support the proposed installation, by delivery of a valid preliminary interconnection report or Coordinated Electric System Interconnect Review (CESIR) report issued for the project. Off-grid systems shall be exempt from this requirement.

[b] Safety. The owner or operator shall provide evidence that a copy of the site plan application has been submitted to the appropriate Fire Chief (Ithaca Fire Department or Cayuga Heights). All means of shutting down the photovoltaic solar energy system shall be clearly marked on the site plan and building permit applications.

[c] Operation and maintenance plan: submission of a plan for the operation and maintenance of the facility, to include measures for maintaining safe access, operational maintenance of the photovoltaic solar energy system, any anticipated agrivoltaic farming use, and general property upkeep, such as mowing and trimming.

[d] Utility Plan: location and nature of any proposed utility easements and infrastructure, including a one- or three-line electrical diagram detailing the entire solar energy system layout, including the number of solar panels in each ground-mounted array, solar collector installation, associated components, inverters, electrical interconnection methods, and utility meter, with all National Electrical Code compliant disconnects and overcurrent devices. The diagram must describe the location and layout of all energy storage system components, if applicable, and must include applicable setback and other bulk and area standards.

[e] Documentation of solar collector type, including but not limited to equipment specification sheets for all solar panels and collectors, significant components, mounting systems, and inverters that are to be installed, as well as proposed solar energy production nameplate capacity design levels proposed for the solar energy system and the basis for the calculations of the area of the solar energy system's nameplate capacity.

[f] Documentation of energy storage system components and fire safety compliance plan. Such plans shall document and verify that the system and its associated controls and safety systems are in compliance with the applicable Fire Code of New York State, including procedures for safe shutdown, de-energizing, or isolation of equipment and systems under emergency conditions and emergency procedures to be followed in case of fire, explosion, release of liquids or vapors, damage to critical moving parts, or other potentially dangerous conditions.

[g] A stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) as required by Ithaca Town Code Chapter 228 (Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control).

[h] Visual assessment of the visual impacts of the photovoltaic solar energy system. At a minimum, this assessment shall include:
 

[i] Line-of-sight profile analysis;

[ii] The locations, elevations, height, plant species, and/or materials that will comprise the structures, landscaping, and/or grading used to screen and/or mitigate any adverse aesthetic effects of the system;

[iii] Visual simulations, including photographic images, depicting the maximum height of the proposed system components (including all portions and attachments to the system), taken from the perspectives of the public right-of-way and of any properties situated in closest proximity to the location being proposed for the system siting. Photos should also be taken from the perspectives of any properties that would reasonably be expected to sustain significant adverse aesthetic impacts due to their elevation relative to the site, or the system location and the property location;

[iv] Before and after renderings; and

[v] Possible impacts to any important/scenic views listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventories.

[i] A decommissioning plan to be implemented as specified in this section to ensure that the site will be restored to a useful and nonhazardous condition, with a time frame provided for the completion of the work, and related securitization of such obligation, as further set forth in Subsection G(2)(c)[7] below. The decommissioning plan shall, at a minimum, contain the following elements and meet the following requirements.
 

[i] Specify when and what constitutes an event requiring decommissioning, which must include at a minimum the following events requiring decommissioning: the Town notifies the owner and operator (if different from the owner) to implement the decommissioning plan pursuant to Subsection G(2)(c)[8][a] below; the lack of production for six continuous months (or for 12 of any 18 months) after the system becomes operational, unless the Planning Board grants an extension pursuant to Subsection F(4) above; the lack of a current permit; failure to maintain any required decommissioning bond or other security; a violation of any site plan conditions or permit conditions that continues more than 30 days after the Town provides written notice of such violation (or, if the violation is not reasonably capable of cure within 30 days, if the owner or operator fails to commence to cure such violation within such thirty-day period and thereafter diligently and with continuity prosecute such cure to completion in a period not to exceed 90 days after the Town's notice.)

[ii] Specify the form and type of notice to be provided to the Town in the event of any decommissioning, sale, transfer, partial transfer, assignment, or occurrence of any event which may result in an act or partial order requiring partial or complete decommissioning of the site.

[iii] Specify the means and methods by which utility interconnections will be removed in accordance with the utility provider's requirements, as well as all electrical and other safety precautions to be undertaken during removal.

[iv] Specify the timeline and means and methods for removal and disposition of all solar panels, battery energy storage systems, electrical appurtenances, structures, equipment, security barriers and transmission lines within 180 days of the date decommissioning is required.

[v] Specify the means and methods to minimize disruption to field drains and soils; remediate drains and soils; and avoid or minimize erosion, including stabilization and revegetation of any sites with native seed mixes, excluding any invasive species. The plan shall require decompaction of soils to 18 inches and removal of any installed materials to four feet, unless the Town Engineer allows the owner or operator to leave landscaping or designated below-grade foundations, piers, footers, or other supports in place to minimize erosion and disruption to vegetation. The plan shall further specify that underground electric lines shall be abandoned in place, and access roads in agricultural areas shall be removed unless otherwise specified by the landowner.

[vi] Specify disposal of all solid and hazardous wastes in accordance with local, state, and federal waste disposal regulations, including the removal of any contaminated soils. To the extent permitted by law, no designation of any facilities by a beneficial use declaration shall be permitted to vary this cleanup and remediation/disposal rule.

[vii] Include an expected timeline for decommissioning plan execution, together with a cost estimate prepared and sealed by a licensed engineer detailing the projected cost of executing the decommissioning plan.

[j] For applications that do not propose agrivoltaic farming, a vegetation management plan per the design standards below.

See § 270-219.1: Solar energy systems for complete, detailed information.