The Rochester Conservation Commission began its meeting held on September 1 by addressing a request for determination of applicability on a new solar array project. Their review primarily centered around whether or not the proposed project fell under the commission’s jurisdiction.
Eric Las of Beals and Thomas Inc., representing the applicant, shared his screen over Zoom to show the commission his plans for the site located off Braley Hill Road. The site would encompass roughly 40 acres and produce 9.5 megawatts of solar energy.
Las explained that the project has made significant progress. The plans have already been brought before the Rochester Planning Board and received their approval. The request for determination of applicability submitted by Las seemed to be more of a formality to ensure that there would be no conflicts with the commission in the future of the project’s development.
After his discussions with Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon, Las revealed that his final version of the proposal included a redesign to keep a completed project outside the 100-foot buffer zone for vegetated wetland areas. His plans showed that the nearest point to any buffer zone in the area is 100 feet.
Commission member Kevin Thompson expressed concerns relating to the surrounding tree foliage and how the overall site plan demonstrated that the clearing would be conducted only in areas near the perimeter fence. Thompson recommended that Las ensure that the surrounding trees farther out would not have any potential fall hazard that could destroy the proposed site. Las provided the commission with a comprehensive vegetation analysis asserting that the surrounding vegetation and the trees will not grow tall enough to pose a significant risk to the array.
Ultimately, the commission found that none of the work proposed by Las fell under their jurisdiction, meaning that they could easily issue a negative determination of applicability. This would allow Las to go forward with his work without a Notice of Intent for the project.
Though she agreed that the project did not fall under commission jurisdiction, Farinon expressed the hope that Las would clearly denote the surrounding buffer zone areas on the site in order to guarantee that there is no accidental negative impact. “This does not fall under jurisdiction, but if we review the site and there is work in the buffer zone, it will come back before the commission,” Farinon explained to Las.
The commission voted to issue a negative determination of applicability, allowing Las to move forward with his project, but Las wasn’t finished with his business with the commission.
In the second and final public hearing of the commission, Las presented another outline for a project he ultimately hopes will gain commission approval. This time his proposal included numerous potential developments falling under commission authority.
The proposal features a solar array that is set back roughly 350 feet to the East of Snipatuit Road in a heavily wooded area. The array would produce nearly 5 megawatts of solar power and faces significant challenges due to its location.
The proposed area for the site is bordered by protected wetlands areas on both sides. In addition, much of the work will have to be conducted inside of the 100-foot buffer zone with some of the work falling within the border of the 25-foot no-disturb zone of a wetlands resource area.
Las told commission members that much of the difficulty surrounding the site came from the fact that the solar array had to be split into two separate sites due to one of the town’s bylaws. The particular bylaw requires that there must be a 100-foot separation of construction on two abutting properties. For this reason, Las’s plans show a large, seemingly inexplicable gap in the solar array.
Farinon suggested that Las seek a waiver for the bylaw from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and she argued that doing so would allow much of the site to be narrowed and moved away from sensitive areas. Las explained that he was told in a public meeting that the chances of being granted such a waiver are highly unlikely so he decided not to pursue that option further.
Commission members also voiced concerns surrounding the access road to the site. Las tried to convince the board that heavy equipment had traversed the existing road that cuts into the forest before for other projects. Still, the commission doubted that no improvements or work would be need to be done for the road to facilitate the heavy machinery required to construct the array.
After the allotted time for Las’s presentation had expired, he still had much to discuss with the board and requested a continuance of the public hearing. Las needed more time to update his plans to address the board’s concerns and ultimately await the comments provided by the commission’s review engineer. The board voted to continue the public hearing until October 20 to allow sufficient time for Las to update his plans and to allow the town to work with a consulting engineer on the proposal.
The next Rochester Conservation Commission meeting is scheduled to take place remotely over Zoom on Tuesday, September 15.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Matthew Donato