Solar Farm: Selectboard and Planning Commission Have Sent Mixed Messages to PSB
December 29, 2011,
by Edd Merritt.....

Agreeing on several issues and disagreeing on others – most specifically the placement of the solar farm in an open field abutting the Charlotte/Hinesburg Road – two of the town’s more influential boards chose to submit separate letters to the state Public Service Board.

Both groups favor developing sources of renewable energy. The Selectboard generally supports the project on the site on which it is proposed, while the Planning Commission urges the PSB to seek a less prominently visible spot, preferably in a commercial district. In its letter, the commission says that it is “aware that Section 248 projects are exempt from the Town’s review under the local zoning bylaws,” but believes it is important for the PSB to note that Charlotte’s Land Use Regulations do not allow it within the zoning district in which it is proposed, a “rural,” not “commercial” district.

The Planning Commission suggests that for a project of this magnitude (15 acres generating 2.2 Megawatts of electricity), “local zoning should be given due consideration.” The commission suggests locating such a project in the Commercial/Light Industrial District in town which is adjacent to the existing VELCO transmission power line.

Both bodies urge the PSB to reduce the project’s impact on neighboring properties by moving it northward and further west, landscaping it with trees which screen the panels and other structures within the facility and shifting the access road to the western edge of the property.

According to Town Planner Dean Bloch, it is his understanding that "the opportunity (for Selectboard, Planning Commission and others) to apply for party status presents itself after the applicant submits the petition (i.e. application) for a Certificate of Public Good, which will likely happen at some point after January 3, 2012. The PSB’s public hearing will also be scheduled (by the Public Service Board) at some point after that.