“Solar developers Eden Renewables on Wednesday asked the city Zoning Board of Appeals to grant a “Public Utility Variance” to allow the company to build a proposed $10 million 32-acre 7.5-megawatt solar farm on the site of the former Pine Brook Golf Club.
The location of the property is 280 South Main St., located in a neighborhood zoned for residential use.
During the meeting, ZBA Chairman Jeffrey Ashe, of 22 Wheaton Ave., recused himself because he lives adjacent to the property. Acting ZBA chairman David Esler, of 43 Oakland Ave., led the board in tabling the matter, claiming members had only received Eden Renewables’ application at the end of last week and needed more time to consider the company’s arguments for why the project should be granted a Public Utility Variance.
Eden Renewables application is different from the typical zoning use variances considered by the Gloversville ZBA. Normally to get a zoning use variance, an applicant must prove an “unnecessary hardship” to the property owner by showing the applicant can’t achieve a reasonable rate of return from owning the property under the current zoning restrictions. Applicants have to show the hardship relating to the property is unique, granting the use variance wouldn’t change the essential character of the neighborhood and the alleged hardship was not self-created.
But Giovanni Maruca, the chief developer for Eden Renewables, said his company is arguing the use variance should be granted under the legal standard established in New York state case law for Public Utility Variances. Maruca said under New York state law electricity generating facilities are given “special dispensations” for where they can be built because they are already limited to choosing properties near electrical grid connections sufficient to accommodate the power generation.”
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Subick, Jason. Schenectady Gazette 5 June 2021.