More details were hammered out last week on the plan to put a solar energy farm on Brothertown Road in Waterville.
Members of the Sangerfield Zoning Board of Appeals, the town’s attorney and engineer, and representatives of NextEra spent two and a half hours last week in a meeting conducted remotely and available on YouTube. NextEra is looking for a Special Use Permit for the project that would go on the west side of Brothertown Road.
Restrictions in having meetings have pushed the project beyond the expected timetable for the ZBA to sign off on the permit. This was the first meeting by the board in a few months.
Much of the discussion focused on details of the project, such as vegetation, the maintenance of the area outside the fenced-in project and the post-project plans. The request for the SUP has been in front of the board since spring 2019.
At the end of last week’s meeting, although no resolution was finalized, participants indicated there had been progress. “We are really close,’’ ZBA member Rocco Padula said.
NextEra officials said the footprint of the solar farm will be slightly smaller after the fenceline is moved in. NextEra will lease the land from owner Edward Gallagher during the 30 to 35 years the panels will be in use.
ZBA member Bill Lachmann asked about protective vegetation outside the fence. With enough rain, he said, the downward western slope could create “mudslides and a mass of mud oozing down to the neighbors’ property.’’
Project manager Janet Ward said there would be a vegetation…