PITTSTON — Voters in Pittston passed a moratorium Wednesday night in a special town meeting that puts a pause on the solar farms application process until a new ordinance can be enacted.

Residents voted 29-15 in favor of the moratorium, which is retroactive from July 12 and active until Dec. 12.

Members of the ordinance review committee recommended the moratorium to the Select Board. The need for a specific ordinance came from the Planning Board, as residents brought forth proposals to have several solar panels on their property.

A solar farm is defined in the moratorium as a facility that uses one or more solar collectors to convert solar energy to electrical energy and does not include any solar panels on a residential property, which the town has a separate ordinance for.

Several Planning Board officials shared anecdotally at the Sept. 18 public hearing for the moratorium that because there are no town guidelines specific to the review and control of solar facilities, the board follows state law that is not specific to the town. Additionally, members of the board and residents have talked about having an ordinance to define how to safely deconstruct the panels when no longer in use and also how to safely install the panels in a way that does not impact residents’ health or the environment.

Members of the Planning Board said there are four or five solar facilities in town.

The ordinance review committee will be in charge of drafting the town’s ordinance, and has invited town committee members and the public to share research and ideas they think should be included. The ordinance review committee previously said at the public hearing last month that they might need more time than the Dec. 12 deadline to sift through the research and draft an ordinance proposal.

The Select Board can extend the moratorium by another six months if an ordinance is not drafted by Dec. 12. Select Board Chair Jane Hubert previously told the Kennebec Journal that she would speak with residents in town before the Select Board reaches a decision.

The first ordinance review committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday; the committee meetings are scheduled as bi-weekly.