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Public hearing to weigh in opinion on solar by-law

Date: 1/30/2012

Jan. 30, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW — The Planning Board will host a public hearing on Jan. 31 at 6:15 p.m. in the Town Hall hearing room to discuss a proposed by-law concerning ground-mounted photovoltaic installations.

The by-law would allow for the installation of ground-mounted solar panels on property zoned industrial garden or industrial, according to Planning Director Robyn Macdonald.

The by-law, a 10-page document that addresses building, operation and maintenance, setbacks, size, minimum acreage and performance standards, as well as other requirements, will be voted upon at the Annual Town Meeting.

The industrial garden section of East Longmeadow exists south of Industrial Drive to the Connecticut border between Shaker Road and Benton Drive. Industrial zoning is primarily found along the railroad tracks.

While the Green Committee, chaired by Selectman James Driscoll, was hoping for a proposed by-law that would allow for the installation of solar arrays on residential property as well, the Planning Board decided against it.

“They essentially boxed out anyone [with residential property] from putting solar panels anywhere but on their roof,” Driscoll said during his Green Committee report at the Board of Selectmen’s Jan. 24 meeting.

Macdonald cited esthetics as the primary reason for the board’s decision not to include residential property in the by-law.

“The reason is the board felt it needs to protect the residential districts,” she said. “These panels are not pleasant to look at. If we included residential districts, your neighbor could fill their yard with panels. The board felt they needed to protect every residential property owner.”

One area that has been talked about as a potential site for a large-scale photovoltaic array was the closed landfill on Allen Street, however, should the by-law be accepted, that would no longer be a possibility.

“It sits right in the middle of a Residential A district,” Macdonald said. “It’s a big piece of property.”

Macdonald said that the board considered a stipulation that brownfield land could be used in order to allow land such as the landfill to be utilized, but even then, the town would not be able to construct an array there.

“The by-law originally would have allowed these panels on a brownfield, but we discovered that by law, that land isn’t a legitimate brownfield,” she said.



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