Rochester’s Conservation Commission on Tuesday leaned heavily into two Notices of Intent for High Street Solar 1 and 2 at 0 High Street., which proposes work within the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone for a ground-mounted solar array to include a battery storage system, associated site work and utility construction. One notice is for lots four and five. A separate notice is for lots 6, 16, 17, 35, 21. 20, 22 and 35.
As abutters concerned about the impact of the plan on their neighborhood looked on, project representative Sarah Stern explained the northern section of the parcel is 63 acres; the southern portion is 23 acres and is an upland wooded area where much of the 43-acre solar array would go. These areas surround 94 acres that are being mandated as conservation restriction (CR) land. The developer, Ritter, LLC, is looking for some group to hold this CR. She noted Natural Heritage is examining the project because it includes box turtle habitat areas. She added that the developer has land where it will rebuild these habitats.
John Dvoski, a cranberry grower with nearby bogs, noted all his bog streams dry up during parts of the year. “We rely on them for our reservoir,” he said. He asked that the project’s water drainage be designed to go southerly and stay plentiful for his and fellow bog owners’ use, he said.
Other Mayflower Lane residents were also concerned about the effect on their water resources. Brad Carvel of 56 Mayflower said he was very concerned with how his water table will be affected. “There’s heavy wetlands back there,” he said. Mayflower Lane resident Doug Sims asked how the noise of the array’s power system will affect local box turtles. Stern answered that conservation protections are being taken very seriously in the planning stage.
Ultimately, the commission continued the NOI hearing to its April 7 meeting. This result came after Chair Christopher Gerrior requested scheduling a site walk as the next step, and he and Stern reasoned they needed more time to let the Planning Board’s hearing on the project happen on March 24.
The next Conservation Commission meeting will be Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00 pm in Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco