ATHOL — Several Conant Road residents asked questions and expressed concerns over a proposed ground-mounted 5.1 megawatt solar array in their neighborhood at a public hearing held during the Board of Planning and Community Development meeting Wednesday. Drew Vardakis and Rich Niles from Wood PLC and Samuel Dionne of Sunpin Solar Development, LLC gave a presentation of design changes that were made based on peer reviews and comments from a meeting in March. The hearing was part of a Major Site Plan Review application for Sunpin for property located off of Conant Road.
The updated plan increases the set-back by moving several solar panels away from the road which allow the natural vegetation to act as a screen. Adjustments were also made to ensure that the visual site lines for various houses mitigate the visual impact on the neighborhood. The road to the western end was shortened to allow panels to be moved from Conant Road, reducing the storm water impact and increasing the buffer.
Planning Board member Richard Hayden expressed concern about water runoff. Niles said that now that there is a different orientation of the road, they will try to figure out how to recapture the water using as efficient a design as possible.
Chairman David Small said board members did a site walk and that things are moving in the right direction with the changes, noting that more aesthetics would be added, including native mountain laurel along the driveway.
Abutter Rebecca Bialecki questioned whether the current condition of Conant Road would support truck traffic. Niles explained that it is a multi-stage process where the material cannot be staged all at once. The phases would include tree removal, landscape leveling and delivery of solar equipment, panels and racks. Vardakis projected a time range of up to six months.
Conant Road resident Charlie Winters wanted to know what will be done to detain or deter the water coming from the access road out of the complex, saying his road freezes at night and rain erodes the side of the road. According to Small, the storm water issue is going through a peer review process and the current access point will be moved down the road.
Veronica Winters also expressed concern with water runoff in winter time, citing there are three susceptible areas along the road. She also asked how Sunpin decided on the Conant Road location and was told the owner was looking to sell his property and contacted them. Winters said she couldn’t visualize a solar farm in the “quiet, peaceful place we love.” Dionne said his company conducted its due diligence, and “we understand your frustration, but at the end of the day, it’s a private parcel and the landowner’s decision to do what he wants with it.”
Winters said, “I’m not against solar. We have solar panels on our house. But not on the street.” She said she’s been reading about solar farms in Massachusetts and how a lot of people don’t want them in their neighborhoods, and is concerned about property values going down. Niles replied that the town’s bylaw allows it. Small said very few people showed up at the town meeting where it was approved when the bylaw was renewed a year ago. Board member Aimee Hanson said the town had a more lenient law in 2010 and it was decided to make it more stringent. The new bylaw was voted for “overwhelmingly” at the town meeting. Small also noted that the board is looking more into the bylaw. “When all is said and done, we’ll do anything we can to mitigate these effects.”
He also did a walk through of the whole area the day before the hearing and said the houses on Conant Road cannot be seen through the tree lines. Dionne said the array won’t be seen when driving by.
Another Conant Road resident, Vera Coupal wanted to know if there were plans for a logging road. Vardakis said they purposely avoided that because it would be close to a stream. Coupal also asked if the array would be noisy. Vardakis said it is 200 feet away from the road and through the existing vegetation it’s “very likely” that they would not hear it.
It was also questioned if the seven foot fence would be able to keep out wildlife. Mary Holtorf, not an abutter but a concerned citizen, commented that she’s seen deer jump over fences.
Nate Butler wanted to know about the size of the water basins and expressed concern about mosquitoes surrounding them. Vardakis said the basins vary in size and are relatively shallow. Small said that the basins are dry most of the time.
Susan Mondi-Sykes said she’s experienced noise traveling uphill to her property and was concerned that the sun on the arrays would cause glare onto the properties. She also said as a member of the Athol Zoning Board of Appeals she felt they were the last to know about the proposed solar project. “Everybody should have known,” she said. “We live out there for a reason.”
Holtorf was also commented that two or three weeks wasn’t enough time for people to give feedback. Abutter Claire Bird, who is not originally from Athol, said she is “totally against” the project.
The hearing was extended to May 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.
A final public hearing was also held for a Licensed Marijuana Establishment Special Permit Modification for 1620 Labs, LLC for additional marijuana cultivation growing space at 1 Exchange Street. Wayne Elibero of 1620 Labs said a new roof was installed last week. Chairman David Small said the board had nothing to add and feels it will be beneficial to the town. The state will do an inspection to make sure the building is in compliance before it gives the green light to start, which Small said is expected to happen around June 1. He also said that it will be up to the Athol police and the owner to work together on security.
At the beginning of the session, longtime Planning Board member Calvin Taylor announced his resignation effective at the end of the meeting. “We really appreciated having his institutional knowledge,” Small said. “We wish him well.”