There weren’t any public hearings scheduled for the July 14 Rochester Planning Board meeting, but plenty of solar farm projects made the agenda as items to discuss, including the 10-acre solar farm proposed within the Rochester historic district in the center of town.
The board made arrangements for a Friday night July 24 site visit to the location situated between New Bedford Road and Dexter Lane, but held back on further discussion on the matter. Two concerned residents sat in wooden benches of the meeting hall, but had no comments or concerns to bring up, saying they were simply “paying attention” now that the solar farm has hit the radar screen.
The skies are a bit cloudy, at least from Rochester, over the plans for Karen and Dennis Clemishaw, owners of a parcel of land they have slated for a solar farm that sits in Marion but requires its access from Perry’s Lane in Rochester.
Last month, the Clemishaw matter went before the board during a pre-submission discussion when the board denied granting a list of waivers the Clemishaws requested pertaining to design, construction, and stormwater management, among other things. The Planning Board’s main concerns are screening and access.
The Clemishaws planned on applying for a site plan review only for the roadway and screening, but the board requested at the last meeting that they also file with the Town of Rochester whatever they file with the Town of Marion.
Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson, who had not yet viewed the file for the project submitted this week, wondered if the applicant filed the way the board had asked or if the plan was submitted already taking the waivers for granted.
“And if it did,” said Johnson, “come back and pick it up and file it correctly and we’ll cancel the public hearing for [July 28].”
The matter has yet to be heard by the Marion Planning Board, and Johnson said the Rochester Planning Board should not refer to the waiver list the Clemishaws submitted prior while they review the plan.
“It should be the same as Marion’s,” said Johnson.
Looking over to a stack of copies of the Clemishaw file, Johnson said it didn’t look very thick and he reached over to take one, opening it up.
“I wouldn’t send this to [the engineer] yet,” said Johnson. He said when reviewing the plan, the board would be referring to its own solar bylaw and compare it to Marion’s. He said the application for Rochester should be as if the applicant were building 100 percent in Rochester and not just the access.
Board member Gary Florindo said the board should be careful to protect the town, especially when it comes to screening.
“It’s not like we condemn the project,” said Florindo. “But at least we have something to work with to protect the neighborhood.” He added that there are four or five houses in Rochester from which the residents could potentially see the solar farm from their properties in the Mary’s Pond area.
The board decided to contact Michael Popitz from the Marion Planning Board, whom the Marion Planning Board designated as a liaison between the two towns for the duration of the permitting process to “compare notes.”
“We’re going to apply our bylaw,’ said Johnson. “So we’re going to catch … whatever in their (Marion’s) bylaw that [the Marion Planning Board] doesn’t.”
Also during the meeting, the board discussed a third solar project, the Little Quittacus solar project at 33 North Avenue.
The developer has requested the release of a surety, which the board held off on granting after a brief discussion on the matter.
Florindo visited the site and told the board the grass and shrubbery at the site is “growing real slow.”
“You can see why,” said Florindo. “The wind blows on it and dries it all out.”
Johnson said the board would not release any money back to the developer until a drainage basin gets the “touch up” work it needs.
Florindo also referred to a number of dead trees at the site that were planted as part of the original plan.
The board decided it would send the developer a letter suggesting they extend a line of trees along the right side of the road that extends to the site.
“Eventually they’ll green up and block off a lot of that view,” said Florindo.
In other matters, the board was not satisfied with Connet Woods after a site walk when some board members spotted a steel drainage outflow structure left uncovered.
Planning Board member Lee Carr whipped out his phone and showed the board a photo of the structure saying, “That worries me more than the grass…. It just seems dangerous to me.”
There is usually a cover on these steel outflows, agreed the board.
“I’m just worried about some kid or a dog or some critter falling into it and that’ll be the end of that,” said Carr.
Johnson said he wants email updates every two weeks from the Connet Woods representative.
The board also discussed The Pines at Hathaway Pond and determined that an issue with the septic system the development is currently experiencing was beyond the Planning Board’s purview and was a matter between the homeowners’ association and the Board of Health.
Johnson said the board had tried repeatedly to offer advice to the association, but advice has gone unheeded.
The association requested that the Planning Board release a surety, but the board determined that the bond the board held pertained to landscaping matters and cannot be used to cover septic issues.
The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for July 28 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
By Jean Perry
