“The Glen Town Board has adopted updated laws for utility-scale solar projects and will now consider creating rules to govern wind turbines.
“It is good to have it finally completed,” Supervisor Timothy Reilly said Monday. “It’s in line with what the Planning Board right along had been hoping for, in that, we certainly aren’t disallowing solar in any way, but we are regulating it a little more than I think it had been.”
Officials in the town increasingly targeted for solar projects began mulling changes to existing laws in order to protect against overdevelopment, and enacted a moratorium on utility-scale projects to allow time for new rules to be drafted in August 2021. The Town Board adopted the updated regulations by local law last week on Sept. 12.
“It does go a lot further than we have in the past to identify areas in the town that were concerns and regulates those matters,” Reilly said. “It will allow solar, but there will be greater oversight on it.”
Among the updates are a substantial increase to minimum setbacks which will now require solar projects to be installed at least 500 feet away from property lines on all sides in the residential zoning district. Previously, only 100-foot front and rear setbacks and 50-foot setbacks at the sides of properties were required.
The tightened regulations prohibit utility-scale arrays in the Hamlet zoning district. Projects are still allowed in the Rural Residential, Industrial and Commercial Districts under certain conditions with the approval of a special use permit.
The update caps the size of utility-scale solar projects to a maximum of 10 acres of agricultural land and total lot coverage is limited to a maximum of 20% for all types of properties. Arrays are ordered to “avoid to the maximum extent feasible” soils classified as prime farmland.
Additionally, construction on slopes greater than 15% is barred, clear cutting of more than 9 acres of trees is prohibited and battery energy storage systems are not allowed.
“It’s been a process to get it through, but I think overall it’s a very good document,” the town supervisor said.”
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Onyon, Ashley. The Recorder 20 September 2022.