Planning Board members, from left, James Fox, John Druley and Paul Dreyer discuss plans for a solar farm a the corner Cape Cod Country Club.
Planning board chairman John Druley
Planning Board members, from left, James Fox, John Druley and Paul Dreyer discuss plans for a solar farm a the corner Cape Cod Country Club.
A heated exchange broke out at the Planning Board’s fourth public hearing on Tuesday, February 10, on the proposed solar farm at the former Cape Cod Country Club, as the developer accused board chairman John L. Druley of pushing “unreasonable restrictions” and board members questioned Druley’s private conversations with Eversource about the project’s power lines.
The project spans five parcels, approximately 139 acres of land, on Theatre Drive and Boxberry Hill Road, throughout the existing golf course. Plans are to install solar panels in three areas of the property: the east, west and south arrays.
As proposed, solar panels would be installed over 57 acres and the majority of the remaining average—about 42 acres—will be conserved as open space and donated to the town. The project includes battery energy storage, transformers, electrical cabinets, conduit, wires, a stormwater management system with three bioretention areas and other equipment on the property.
Planning board chairman John Druley
At the beginning of the site plan review process in November, Druley identified himself as a member of Cape Cod Country Club but did not recuse himself from the hearing. Druley was the only dissenting vote as a delegate on the Cape Cod Commission against the project in September, when it went through a regional review by the commission.
Based on what attorney Matthew Terry called “significant public feedback,” the team at PureSky has made some changes to the site plan. Terry said changes to the trail network to make the design more contiguous have been made, as well as the addition of a wider wildlife corridor in the middle of the west array.
Director of Community Development Jedediah “Jed” Cornock prepared a draft of standard and special conditions for the board to review before the next hearing. Members of the board received the draft conditions a few hours before the meeting. On the subject of conditions, Druley said he planned to request a condition requiring underground utilities to avoid additional power lines and poles on and around the site.
Druley made a similar request at the project’s second hearing in December. PureSky Senior Project Manager Lawrence Cook said the decision on underground utilities would rest with Eversource and noted that underground installation is more expensive and unlikely to be approved.
At the meeting on Tuesday, February 10, to the surprise of some members of the board, Druley said he had been in contact with Eversource and that Eversource supported the idea of underground utilities.
Board member James E. Fox called Druley’s action, which Fox said he had no knowledge of, “totally illegal.” Fox said Druley was “overstepping his bounds” as chairman.
Assistant Town Planner Melinda Tondera said Druley’s conversations, which took place outside of a public meeting, show a lack of substantial evidence. She explained that the board and the public have no knowledge of how the project was presented to Eversource by Druley and noted that no representative from Eversource was present at the meeting.
Terry said Eversource designed the energy distribution that will leave the site and requested additional poles that Druley was displeased with. Terry added that the design meets all Eversource standards and the interconnection agreement.
Terry added that PureSky can only control utilities on its site, which he said all comply with the town’s large-scale ground-mounted solar overlay district site plan review design and operations standards.
Cook added that changing the power design now would cause undue financial hardship by costing millions of dollars and delaying the project.
Town Counsel Maura O’Keefe advised that the board make its decisions based solely on the record, which contains the site plan review application, referrals and documents submitted by PureSky. O’Keefe said conditions imposed based on private investigations will be highly susceptible to challenge.
Druley said, “I’m an elected official,” and that the condition would reduce the visual impact of the project and “improve safety.” He added that he felt his proposed condition abided by the law.
In closing the discussion, Druley requested that conditions made by the Cape Cod Commission review be sent to board members, so conditions are not duplicated in its final decision.
Terry agreed to continue the hearing to Tuesday, February 24. In answer to a question from Terry, the board indicated that it may be ready to vote on a decision at that time.
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