Whether it’s the size of the clearing for a solar array or the height of the lights at Tabor Academy football field, the Marion Planning Board agrees, size does impact their decision.

Two representatives from Zero-Point Energy Solutions presented a plan to the Marion Planning Board on June 4 to clear 15 acres of forested land for a solar array field on Route 6 near the Wareham town line.

The plan would require approximately six to nine months to complete on the 22-acre parcel owned by Henry Dejesus located near the shores of the Weweantic River.

The 3.5-megawatt capacity solar farm, said solar developer representative Harold Reader, would be secured by a metal chain-link fence and a white PVC fence would shield the project from view from the road, as well as a 25-foot vegetative setback from all sides of the parcel. There would be select clearing including topping of trees and trimming of low-growing brush before the actual 15 acres of stumped and grubbed area for the solar array.

Reader assured the board there would be minimal traffic after the initial construction phase, with twice annual visits with a utility truck for routine checks and maintenance.

Brendan Gove, the company owner, stated that they had been in touch with Eversource, which is conducting a review of their proposal.

“Solar is financially viable,” said Gove. “There is Massachusetts priority use for solar. And a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program.”

Board member Chris Collings said adamantly, “The town does not want to see this,” and it should be well screened from the road. Member Eileen Marum asked about the type of mounting, considering its proximity to the Weweantic and the potential for corrosion. Gove believed it will most likely be a steel I-beam construction based on his knowledge of the typical substrate of sandy loam at the site.

Planning Board member Norm Hills raised the primary concern of the night: the town solar bylaw that prohibits large-scale forest clearing for a solar project.

“We consider this a small project,” said Gove. “We do fifty-acre, three hundred-acre projects. We don’t consider this large.”

Board member Andrew Daniel remarked, “[We are a] small town – this is large.”

Will Saltonstall, newly elected chairman, weighed in on this issue, stating, “Personally, I’m a huge proponent of solar and green energy … [but I’m] not a huge fan of clearing forest for solar. [There’s] lots of room to establish solar on already open land.”

Daniel added, “I’m for green space over green energy.”

“This is effectively lost space in this town,” Collings commented. “If they built it tonight with a fence, no one would know … and we’d get income for the town…. A painless loss from many perspectives – not open space loss – no one will notice.”

Saltonstall elaborated on his earlier point by saying, “The bigger issue is the board’s palette for this project. [Do] we have an appetite for this? If the bylaw says this is a large project, it is prohibited?”

Gove appeared to push back on this interpretation of the bylaw and the board’s ability to prohibit solar projects in town at all, saying that the municipal law may not be in line with Massachusetts General Law. There was murmuring among the board members that the state attorney general had approved the law.

Gove also warned the board that his company was in competition with a residential developer who would clear and pave the parcel. Dejesus spoke before the board and confirmed that he had gotten another offer for the parcel, allegedly for 32 townhouses, which he suggested could contribute up to 70 children in the school system at a cost of $14,350 per student.

Collings suggested the board allow the project to move forward, saying “…[The project] is going to be smaller – it’s just woods. I’m for the tax revenue.”

Saltonstall refuted this idea, saying, “Just because it’s woods doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.”

Hills acknowledged the “pain and anguish” involved in getting the solar bylaw passed and wondered how it would look if the board were to say the Town didn’t mean what the bylaw actually said. Gove said he felt the bylaw language was ambiguous, acknowledging he did not know the intent of the language.

For Hills, 22 acres is a large-scale clearing, to which member Stephen Kokkins added, “Municipalities have the right to make reasonable interpretations of bylaws.”

Marum wondered aloud about the condition of the trees on the property, that perhaps they were diseased like other trees in town and clearing would be a good thing for the forest. Gove observed that the site “was not a pristine forest,” and his company could donate materials and labor to plant trees elsewhere in town.

Saltonstall reminded the board that the applicant had also made a request for waivers of the environmental assessment of the site and the traffic study. The board continued the hearing for two weeks.

The board also tackled a request by the ZBA to comment on the application by Tabor Academy for a Special Permit to allow five light posts to provide lighting for the athletic field between Spring Street, Front Street, and Ryder Lane.

The application states that the purpose of the lights is to “support and enhance Tabor’s use of the athletic field … as well as support limited community use of the facilities.”

Tabor is requesting 90-foot poles to provide adequate lighting and reduce glare impact on adjacent properties. The lights would be used at night, be manually operated, and turned off by 9:00 pm at the latest.

Marum said one abutter was okay with Tabor’s plan for the lights, but Marum was concerned the poles would be an “attractive nuisance,” and that “thrill-seekers” may attempt to climb them.

Collings said it was clear where the lights were to be located because, “…They put the bases in already – an ugly sidebar, but this is not a new discussion. What frustrates me is that the light tower bases are still there. Personally, I see this as an opportunity to get quid pro quo from this school – this is a time-release capsule, [we have] flashing lights, crossing guards…”

In a follow-up, Collings clarified his comment, saying, “We are the only small town in the Commonwealth that doesn’t have a PILOT agreement” … with the private school in their town.

The board wrestled with what they perceived to be broader issues than the height of the light poles – the overall impact of lighting the field and the resulting increased activities at the site.

Resident Bill Washburn said he goes to games at the Tabor field, and there is already an issue of parking and more games will make this issue worse, he said.

There was general surprise that no one from the village attended the meeting to speak on the issue. Hills recalled that abutters were the main opposition in the past, saying, “If they’ve worked something out [with Tabor], that’s progress.”

Collings asked, “Does our Master Plan contemplate athletic fields in the center of town? This could be a game changer as to how we are acting as a town. It’s not the five poles. It’s all the activity and its impact on what we are doing as a town.”

The board concluded that their recommendation to the ZBA must include the issues of the increased intensity of use at night, parking issues, pedestrian safety, traffic and concentrated use of roads in the village, noise from the athletic events (at an otherwise quieter time of the day), adverse impact on daily life of nearby residents, and light pollution.

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for June 18 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Planning Board

By Sarah French Storer