Solar farm plan OK’d

Lippitt Avenue project touted as ‘near-term land preservation’

By Daniel Kittredge
Posted 7/20/16

A planned large-scale solar project at a Lippitt Avenue site previously approved as the home of a 39-unit residential subdivision has received needed approval from the city's Planning Commission. Southern Sky Renewable Energy RI LLC

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Solar farm plan OK’d

Lippitt Avenue project touted as ‘near-term land preservation’

Posted

A planned large-scale solar project at a Lippitt Avenue site previously approved as the home of a 39-unit residential subdivision has received needed approval from the city’s Planning Commission.

Southern Sky Renewable Energy RI LLC is proposing a 15- to 20-megawatt solar farm on approximately 108 acres owned by DSM Realty Corp. and CWW LLC. Southern Sky has an agreement in place to lease the site, which is located on the eastern side of Lippitt Avenue near the West Warwick line.

The commission last week approved the project’s master plan on a 6-2 vote, with Lynne Harrington and Kimberly Bittner opposed.

Ralph Palumbo, managing partner of Southern Sky, called the Lippitt Avenue property an “attractive site” because of its size. He said Southern Sky has multiple projects in Massachusetts, and has moved into Rhode Island as the state has adapted to the industry.

“We come before you with a great amount of experience,” he said. “We’re very serious about what we do, and I can’t stress that enough.”

Palumbo also said he and his company strive to address the needs and concerns of the cities and towns in which they operate.

“I care about my reputation, and I care about the community that I’m doing work in,” he said.

Plans for 42 units of single-family housing – dubbed Gold Meadow Farms – were first approved in 2009, and the master plan was modified in 2015. Three of the units were built near Whispering Pines Drive, but the remainder of the site remains undeveloped.

Support for the project focused on delaying, or preventing, further residential development, and affording the city and opportunity to protect the site on a more permanent basis in the future.

“This is, in the near term, land preservation,” Principal Planner Jason Pezzullo said in favorably recommending the project on behalf of the Planning Department’s staff. “There is nothing permanent on the site … This is a way to preserve rural character in Western Cranston.”

“This is an opportunity to look at a different use of this property other than a 39-unit subdivision,” said Robert Murray, an attorney with Taft & McSally who is representing the applicants. “This is a much less intense use, and we think that at the end of the day it’s a good use of the property … [It will] bring Cranston to the forefront of this renewable energy industry.”

Concerns were raised, though, over the amount of open space that would remain at the site, as well as over stormwater runoff and the stability of the dirt access road leading to the site.

“It appears there’s a substantially less portion of open space” in the solar proposal compared with the residential development plans, Harrington said.

Hittner suggested the commission delay any action, citing ongoing legal and administrative challenges to the zoning change that paved the way for the Southern Sky plans. Awaiting rulings from Superior Court and the city’s Platting Board, she said, would allow the commissioners to “have better guidance as to what happens next.”

The Lippitt Avenue site is located in an A-80 residential zone. The City Council last year approved zoning ordinance amendments allowing solar projects as a use allowed by right in that zone as part of the approval of RES America’s planned 10-megawatt solar project off Hope Road.

The owner of a neighboring property, United States Investment and Development Corp., has challenged the zoning change, arguing that it does not conform to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and that the project will devalue the corporation’s property.

While the debate over the zoning change and the Hope Road project was lengthy and at times contentious, the commission’s proceedings with the regarding to Southern Sky’s plans were relatively brief and calm.

Murray said Southern Sky hosted a community meeting regarding the project June 29 at Faith Presbyterian Church on Hope Road. He said there was a “good dialogue,” and that the company is “trying to be transparent.”

Douglas Doe, chairman of the Conservation Commission and a Lippitt Avenue resident, had been a vocal opponent of the Hope Road project and the change allowing for solar projects by right in A-80 zones.

He was critical of aspects of the Lippitt Avenue proposal, particularly in terms of the reduced amount of open space.

The solar project is set to take up approximately 60 acres of the site. Minutes from the commission’s consideration of the residential subdivision plan show that a larger portion of the site – 62 acres in 2009, and 74.5 acres in 2015 – were to remain open were that development to proceed.

Doe also called for a greater vegetative buffer between the panels and the edges of the property, and urged the commission members to visit the site, suggesting the topography will create issues.

He also said steps must be taken to address runoff at the site and its potential to further damage the dirt access road, which he called “badly, badly washed out.” He additionally requested Southern Sky be asked to keep a log of the truck traffic associated with the project’s construction, so that the city might have a point of reference in the future.

Doe did, however, speak in positive terms of the approach Southern Sky has taken, contrasting it with that of the Hope Road project’s developer.

“The difference between Southern Sky and RES America is night and day,” he said. “RES America came into the city with silence and secrecy.”

Elizabeth Santilli, also a Lippitt Avenue resident, also said the access road is a point of concern. She spoke of “how important that road is to the four property owners that use it every day,” and urged the commissioners to consider its fate.

Palumbo said the company would play a role in the maintenance of the access road. He also acknowledged that the precise scale of the project might be altered given potential challenges with the terrain on portions of the property.

Palumbo also echoed what David Russo, project manager with DiPrete Engineering Associates, wrote in a letter to Planning Director Peter Lapolla regarding the site work that would be needed – that “clearing of natural vegetation will be limited to what is necessary for the construction and operation of the solar power facility.”

Russo at the commission’s meeting said the plan is to clear and build the system incrementally. He also said the panels themselves take roughly 26 acres, with the rest of the 60 acres used for the project made up of space needed to maximize the solar exposure of each panel.

During the Hope Road solar debate, the council approved a set of solar project performance standards introduced by Ward 1 Councilman Steven Stycos. Those guidelines cover issues such as noise, lighting, site preparation, and decommissioning.

Murray said Southern Sky’s project would meet the standards.

“We’ve reviewed it, we’re comfortable with it,” he said.

Palumbo said construction of the solar farm would take nine to 12 months, and acknowledged it would be a “busy process” with “significant labor coming in each day.” He added: “Once the system is built, it is a very docile, quiet, inactive system.”

The anticipated life of the system is 25 to 30 years. Palumbo said at the end of that timeframe, his company would review the viability of the project and decide whether to extend the lease. If the project were not continued, he said, the site would be reverted “back to its original state.” He said a funding mechanism for the decommissioning of the system would be established in accordance with the city’s solar performance standards.

It remains to be seen what direct financial benefit the city will see from the project. Murray said the applicants would be discussing a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the city, and pointed to a figure of $5,000 per megawatt annually – an estimated $75,000 – as in line with other such agreements.

Murray also noted the master plan approval is “just the beginning” in the process, which will include a technical review with planning staff and final site plan approval from the commission.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here