Rochester Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson was by turns indulgent and rebuking of the overflow crowd at the Rochester Town Hall Tuesday evening as he steered the board through the public hearings of two contentious projects proposed in town.

The first was a continued public hearing regarding the large-scale solar photovoltaic installation Special Permit application for a solar farm on Rounseville and Mendell Roads.

The applicant’s representative Steve Long presented updates to the standing room only crowd regarding the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) study, which suggested that the low levels outside the fence were insignificant and would not affect neighbors.

The 13-acre site would be cleared of vegetation, and residents expressed concern regarding the scenic quality of the existing trees on the site and along the roadway.

Long described to the board that the location of the solar panels was chosen to avoid any impact on the riverfront area of Doggett’s Brook, and saving trees along the road, he said, “…doesn’t save anything valuable.” Residents disagreed, stating that what’s valuable was saving the forest.

This tone continued throughout the discussion, with residents and Planning Board members taking aim at the project, but with board members expressing frustration with the state and its policy that favors solar farms.

Board member Ben Bailey pointed out that the legislature supports green energy sources, and as much as he doesn’t like the solar fields in town, he stated “[The state] suspended towns’ zoning regulations and made solar farms an exempted industrial use.”

Johnson asked for a show of hands of how many of those present attended the last Town Meeting. It was a poor showing, and Johnson said he was embarrassed that with 4,000 registered voters in town, that the quorum number was lowered from 100 to 75 at Town Meeting.

One resident said, “We are a small town; we’ve done our share,” and vowed to contact the State House to try to address the number of solar projects in town.

Another impassioned resident noted that the bylaw stated the board could take neighborhood character and social structure into account when siting a solar project.

Board member John DeMaggio briefly touched on this issue, saying that the wording was intentionally vague to give the board regulatory wiggle room.

The hearing was continued to Monday, August 7.

While many residents left at the close of the previous hearing, the room remained full to capacity as Johnson opened the public hearing for a Site Plan Review for a proposed farmer’s market in a 60-acre field on Route 105.

Bill Madden of G.A.F. Engineering, accompanied by applicant Craig Canning, presented the site plan, which includes two Morton style buildings 60 feet by 120 feet in size. The buildings and parking area would be located on 3.9 acres directly adjacent to Marion Road. The remaining acreage will continue to be used for cropland.

Canning noted that the location of the entrance to the site shown on the plan had been adjusted approximately 25 feet to the west to accommodate a neighbor’s concerns about its proximity to her driveway. The front building would be used for retail space, while processing, sorting, and cleaning produce would occur in the rear building, among other activities supporting the business of the retail space.

There are 50 parking spaces proposed, including handicapped spaces. The site is serviced by town water from Marion and will have its own septic system. There is a proposed seating area on the west side of the building, and a grassy area near the road for display of seasonal products such as mums, Christmas trees, and pumpkins. The road into the site and around the building will be paved, but the parking area will predominantly be gravel surfaced.

Madden noted that the applicant is seeking a waiver from the stormwater regulations, since the runoff can all be infiltrated on-site. There is minimal proposed lighting, except for the sign near the road and wall sconces on the building.

Canning informed the neighbors that truck traffic will be restricted to the early morning hours with fertilizer deliveries and trucks hauling produce from the farm. Residents of the nearby Hathaway Pond Circle expressed considerable concern about traffic and the potential for an increase in accidents. Johnson stated that the police chief had reviewed the site and was satisfied with the site lines for the entrance.

There was also a suggestion that Canning place the parking in the rear of the building to retain the “agricultural ambiance” of the area, to which Canning replied that the site was designed to maximize the use of the entire property and he did not think he could effectively use the site in any other configuration.

Madden noted that they will be requesting a variance for a commercial use in order to sell sandwiches and other items not produced on the farm. One resident reminded the crowd that there was a failed attempt to conserve this field, saying, “We all know what could have happened at this property. It was very gratifying to see [Canning’s] teenage son out there on the tractor on Sunday…. We will all benefit from this.”

The public hearing was continued to Tuesday, July 25.

The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board is scheduled for July 25 at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Sarah French Storer

The Rochester Board of Selectmen on July 10 authorized Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar to research a solar energy generating facility option for the capped landfill on High Street.

“We’re very limited in our income,” noted Selectman Greenwood Hartley. “A lot of different communities have utilized spaces that they have, and nothing can happen on a landfill except for that.”

It would not be a large energy production facility like SEMASS, Hartley specified.

“There is a possibility it could help pay for some of our electric bills,” said Hartley. “We do use quite a bit of electricity.”

Hartley said he finds the landfill an ideal location for a solar, since the site is not visible to residents for the most part.

Hartley emphasized that there would be public hearings before any such project is approved.

The board agreed that allowing Szyndlar to research what other municipalities in Massachusetts have done with solar farms atop capped landfills would be a step in the right direction.

“[It could] generate a little income, at least more like reduce the cost of power usage,” said Hartley, “and perhaps some savings.”

Also during the meeting, selectmen approved Matthew Monteiro’s request to renew the Town’s status as a Tree City USA, and also granted Monteiro permission to plan an Arbor Day ceremony at the Dexter Lane Ball Fields by the Town’s newly acquired ginkgo biloba tree, the one donated to the town by former Town Administrator Michael McCue.

McCue donated the ginkgo, which is a seedling cultivated from the seed of a 250-year-old ginkgo that survived the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima.

The October 6 ceremony will also commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima, as well as Arbor Day. A time has yet to be announced.

“I thought that would be a nice day to have a small ceremony around the tree,” said Monteiro. “Not just to honor Arbor Day, but also to honor the death of so many people.”

Monteiro also received the board’s blessing to attend various educational courses to assist the Town in achieving a Tree City USA Growth Award, which recognizes a higher level of tree care within a Tree City USA-designated municipality.

Monteiro said his goal is to see the Town receive this award for a cumulative total of ten years, making Rochester a Sterling Tree City USA, of which currently there are only four in the state.

“It’s good that we’re involved in this and we educate people on how important it is,” said Selectman Naida Parker.

In other matters, Water Commissioner Fred Underhill approached the board with a proposal to allow the Town of Middleboro to extend its water supply main to the Annie Maxim House, an assisted living community for senior citizens located at 706 North Avenue in Rochester.

Underhill said he and Rochester’s former town administrator had attended meetings with Middleboro officials and trustees of the Annie Maxim House, saying, “They all seemed to be positive toward the the proposal.”

The Town of Rochester could benefit from the extension in the future as an ancillary source of public water should Middleboro ever be granted a permit from the state to increase its water withdrawal volume.

After those initial meetings, however, Underhill said Middleboro had seen several town administrators come and go, and a water superintendent turnover also led to a stall in the process.

“And the thing just kind of sat,” Underhill said.

Recently, though, the team met with Representative William Straus and managed to get the project running again.

“It appears positive at this point,” said Underhill.

Rochester would likely request a new fire hydrant be installed near the road, at a cost to the Town, but Rochester would not be contributing to the actual water main extension.

Middleboro and Rochester will formulate an inter-municipal agreement, and Middleboro Town Meeting voters would approve the extension.

“We think in the long run this is a plus for us,” said Underhill.

In other business, Szyndlar said municipalities in Massachusetts have requested from the state a cumulative $45 million in grant money, the same grant monies the Town of Rochester has applied for to cover the costs of regionalizing its 911 dispatch service.

The problem is, Szyndlar pointed out, there is only $12 million available in the pot.

Officials from the Duxbury regionalized 911 dispatch center have asked the Town to prioritize its roughly $2 million list of infrastructure upgrades and associated costs to the 911 regionalization transition the Town initially requested the state fund through a grant.

Szyndlar met with emergency response officials and decided to place a number of portable radios for the fire and police departments lower on the priority list – items that are wanted, but not required for the regionalization transition.

“Basically, we could still run without them, but we really need the stuff that we need to make this happen,” said Szyndlar. “If that doesn’t get approved with funding,” added Szyndlar, “I’m going to recommend to the Town adding that to the Capital Plan…”

The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for July 24 at 6:30 pm at the Rochester Town Hall.

By Jean Perry