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Date: 2/2/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Community Resources Committee (CRC) met on Jan. 27 and approved a recommendation that will go to Town Council for a solar moratorium in order to have enough time to create a proper solar bylaw for the town.
The push for a moratorium began following the proposal of a project to install a large ground-mounted solar system on wooded land on Shutesbury Road in the fall of last year. The moratorium has been proposed and sponsored by District 2 Councilors Pat De Angelis and Lynn Griesemer, who also serves as council president, to take the time and create the proper guidance for a solar bylaw that the town currently does not have.
Those in favor of the moratorium have opined that this specific project would bring on deforestation in order to bring in green energy, an act they believe to be redundant as the elimination of acres of trees hurts the environment to create something that is supposed to help it. A moratorium would specifically prevent the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board from accepting or approving “any application for a large-scale ground-mounted solar energy system with a rated capacity of 250 kW or greater.”
Sponsors for the moratorium have remained consistent that it would provide the time to not rush into projects like this and create guidelines to follow in the town of Amherst for large scale solar installations.
Ana Devlin Gauthier, who just joined the Town Council this year, is also a sponsor of the moratorium and, from her time on the Conservation Commission, she has been active in promoting a moratorium and the pros of taking the time to create a bylaw. She joined the meeting as a guest – as she is not a member of the CRC – to answer any questions.
“We really wanted to make sure it was clear this was not intended at all to be anti solar and to strengthen the regulations we have by introducing a solar bylaw,” Devlin Gauthier said.
A moratorium would only halt large-scale ground mounted solar arrays from being installed but still allow for rooftop solar and solar above concrete areas.
She added that there appears to be overwhelming agreement on the creation of a bylaw, just a difference in approach to creating it. Devlin Gauthier does not look at a moratorium as a “nuclear option” because it has an 18-month limit to create the bylaw and says the town has a commitment in supporting climate resiliency and meeting the towns climate goals, as laid out in the town’s climate action plan, responsibly through thorough planning.
The most pushback the moratorium proposal has received through public comments and in conversations amongst town officials is that it we are already at a dangerous point in the overall climate emergency that taking up to 18 months would be detrimental to creating action against by installing solar energy in town. The counter from those in favor of a moratorium have described that without a solar bylaw to provide guidelines on projects like this, there could possibly be issues environmentally if a project is to wipe out acres of forested land to install a solar array like the project proposed that began this discussion.
“Some people are saying we don’t have that gap, but the bridge crossing that gap was designed for a different type of vehicle. We need the right vehicle,” Devlin Gauthier said when discussing opponents to the moratorium.
Following comments from the sponsors, the CRC discussed among themselves edits for the proposed moratorium and brainstormed who needs to be involved in this process to create a solar bylaw.
Assistant Town Manager and Conservation Commission Director Dave Ziomek was in attendance and gave some clarification of where the town is as they have already started to push forward on developing a solar bylaw with or without a moratorium.
“From a staff perspective, outreach on solar is already going. Clearly, we want input from the ECAC (Energy & Climate Action Committee) and I think it can come together quickly,” said Ziomek. “The key is pulling resources from other communities to see what they’ve done. Every solar bylaw is basically unique to that community.”
Stephanie Ciccarello, Amherst sustainability coordinator, has been active in organizing and working on the development of a solar bylaw and agreed with Ziomek that input was needed from the experts in town from each area on this issue.
“I think the desire from the ECAC’s perspective is that information helps inform the development of a bylaw and with a focus on how town is meeting the climate action goals,” Ciccarello said.
She added that getting a solar siting study done on different areas of land in town is the starting point to get as much information of the environments that could one day be the home of a large solar installation.
The idea of also creating a working committee on the development of a solar bylaw would be a key part in its creation as well, according to multiple officials in the discussion for the bylaw. The moratorium would allow the town not to worry about potential projects and develop a bylaw and start from scratch with new projects coming in.
The moratorium now goes to the Town Council where a two-thirds majority vote is needed for it go into effect.