Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law has prepared a first draft of a model small-scale solar-siting ordinance. The model ordinance offers a framework that can enable municipalities to implement and enforce the effective and efficient use of solar energy resources. The ordinance would govern all new solar energy systems of up to ten kilowatts and includes provisions regarding permits, appeals, safety, and zoning for future solar access.

A majority of the model ordinance is derived from existing solar ordinances enacted in New York municipalities. While designed with New York municipalities in mind, the model ordinance can be easily modified for adoption in other states.