Solar energy fueled the meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission on September 17, even if the majority of the agenda items were simply to confirm the wetlands lines of properties slated for future solar energy projects.
Five of the seven applicants that night were solar developers looking to confirm a collective 26,273 linear feet of wetland lines – over 4.5 miles – an awful lot for one conservation agent to walk and review herself. And with one solar developer with three separate Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation filings and a desire to have them approved sooner rather than later, it was time to hire a peer-review wetlands scientist to assist.
The three ANRAD applications filed by Joe Harrison, SunRaise Investments, LLC – all continued from August 20 – were again continued until October 15 to give Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon enough time to traverse all those linear feet before the commission can approve the wetlands lines. Julie Goodwin from Prime Engineering said she understood that it would take some time to review the lines – 2,900 feet at 0 Braley Hill Road, 5,423 feet at 0 Featherbed Lane, and 4,000 feet at 0 Snipatuit Road – and offered up a check for $3,000 for Farinon to hire a consultant to take on some of the work.
The three applications are all for the same wetlands system. Goodwin pointed out that she herself has not yet walked the wetlands at 0 Snipatuit Road, so she is unsure of the density of those wetlands.
Being realistic, Farinon said, the job would certainly be completed faster if she had peer-review consultant John Rockwell’s help at 0 Featherbed Lane to “get this buttoned-up” as soon as possible.
“I know that they want it done quickly… so it’s an opportunity to use John [Rockwell] before he goes away and it helps everybody,” said Farinon.
The three ANRAD hearings were continued until October 15.
The ANRAD public hearing for SWEB Development, LLC was re-opened in order to allow Sara Rosenblat of Weston and Sampson to submit an updated wetlands line for approval in the form of a wetland comparison map showing where the changes occurred. The date of the plan she brought forth, however, did not match the date stamped on the plan, which was prior to the date listed on the updated plan.
The commission asked her to resubmit a plan with consistent dates, “And that’s all we need,” said Chairman Michael Conway.
The owner of the property, Craig Canning of Rochester Farms, LLC, is planning on leasing his agricultural land as the site for the largest megawatt output solar energy field in Rochester.
The public hearing as continued until October 1.
Continued from September 3, the ANRAD filed by Erica Buster and Simpson Solar, LLC for 102 Quaker Lane to confirm 10,100 linear feet of bordering vegetated wetland and 1,600 linear feet of a riverfront area was also continued until October 1.
Aside from being unable to confirm some of the flags that continue on past the Acushnet town line, the application brought up the matter of issuing a standard for wetlands flagging in Rochester pertaining to flag color and flag quality. The commission needs to consider a standard, Farinon said, “…so there’s no discrepancy.”
In other business, the commission issued a Negative Determination (no Notice of Intent filing required) for the Request for Determination of Applicability filed by Tim Lynch, 257 Walnut Plain Road, to demolish a collapsed barn and install a 14’x36’ shed within the 100-foot buffer zone of the wetlands.
Daniel Paradis, 443 Neck Road, received a Positive Determination (work will alter but not impact the resource area) for his RDA to raze a single-family cottage and construct a new single-family house with a new septic system and associated work within the 100-foot buffer zone of wetlands along Snipatuit Pond. The plan, updated since the September 3 meeting, was corrected to redirect work outside of the 25-foot no-touch zone.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for October 1 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.
Rochester Conservation Commission
By Jean Perry