Maple Valley council enacts six-month moratorium on battery energy storage permits

Maple Valley — The City Council on July 14 unanimously adopted Ordinance No. O-25-854, establishing an immediate emergency moratorium on acceptance of building permits and other applications for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for a six-month period.

Economic and Community Development Director Doug McIntyre introduced the ordinance as a temporary pause while staff develops interim development regulations specific to BESS facilities. Councilmember Victoria Schroff moved approval; Councilmember Didem Pierson seconded. The motion carried 6-0.

The ordinance, as described in the minutes, sets a six-month effective period to allow the city time to adopt interim rules governing location, permitting and construction standards for BESS facilities. The minutes do not record detailed technical criteria, conditions or any exemptions; no public comments or speaker quotations on technical safety or siting standards are recorded in the minutes.

Council did not commit to a final set of development regulations at the meeting; the moratorium is a temporary measure that prevents the city from accepting new BESS permit applications while staff and council consider code changes. The minutes record Doug McIntyre as the introducing official but do not specify a timeline for returning a draft ordinance or staff report to the council.

Next steps: staff is expected to prepare interim development regulations during the moratorium period; the minutes do not specify a date for council review of those draft regulations.