SolSmart Designees

Belle Plaine

Minnesota
SolSmart Bronze
Population: 7,185
Designation Level: SolSmart Bronze
Year Designated: 2018
  • Created an online permitting checklist, increasing transparency for community members and solar installers
  • Reviewed local zoning codes and identified restrictions that intentionally or unintentionally prohibit solar development
Belle Plaine applied for recognition as a SolSmart community as a means of coalescing around our shared concept sustainability. Supporting access to solar energy and minimizing regulatory barriers to solar access helps ensure our choices and actions today meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Cynthia Smith-Strack, Community Development Director for the City of Belle Plaine