Pitt County seal
Pitt County seal
An energy company wants to install a new solar farm on 236 acres just north of Greenville at the intersection of Oakley Road and N.C. 903.
Stonewood Solar LLC is requesting the property on the northwest corner of the intersection and the southern side of Sweet Gum Grove Church Road be rezoned from rural agricultural to rural agricultural conditional to accommodate the facility.
The Pitt County Board of Commissioners is set to hear the request at its 6 p.m meeting in the Eugene James Auditorium, Pitt County office building, 1717 W. Fifth St.
The land is about 2.5 miles east of N.C. 903’s intersection with N.C. 11, between Greenville and Stokes. A conditional rezoning allows commissioners to place conditions on how land is used.
The Pitt County Planning Board voted 5-4 to recommend approval of the request. Two people spoke against it.
The planning board vote also recommended eight additional conditions be placed on the project. The conditions require Stonewood Solar to secure proper building and environmental permits from the county, N.C. Department of Transportation and other state agencies.
The conditions also require the use of existing vegetation to screen the facility and a 10-foot wide landscaped buffer yard when existing vegetation isn’t available.
It also requires all equipment and structures shall be a minimum of 100 feet from all adjoining residential property lines and 50 feet from all other property lines, except where shown as 100 feet along Oakley Road on the submitted site plan.
Stonewood Solar will install a 10 megavolt photovoltaic solar and battery energy storage hybrid facility on the property.
The company’s goal is to start and complete construction this year.
Farm equipment businessIn other busines, the board will hear a rezoning request to accommodate a wholesale feed equipment and hardware supply business near Farmville.
The request involves 5.18 acres on the western side of Moye-Turnage Road north of its intersection with U.S. 264 Alternate (East Marlboro Road) in the Farmville Township. The 5.18 acres is part of a 225-acre parcel that is part of Frank Dail Farms Inc.
The applicant wants the property rezoned from rural agricultural to general commercial (conditional district).
The planning board voted unanimously to recommend approval with conditions requiring county and state construction and environmental permitting along with meeting county requirements for parking, landscaping, erosion control and fire protection.
Fire study
Representatives from emergency management and North Carolina Fire Chief Consulting are scheduled to present a report on a fire services feasibility survey ordered last year.
Commissioners approved the contract for the study last May after it rejected requests from the Town of Farmville to partially fund a new fire station. A majority of commissioners thought it would be unfair to fund that project when other fire departments used money from fire district taxes and fundraisers.
The commissioners wanted a study that identified the needs of all county fire departments. At the same time, Commissioner Rochelle Brown proposed implementing a recurring fund for fire services and creating a commission to evaluate and recommend funding requests. The commission would also monitor performance and track emerging needs.
Also on Monday’s board of commissioners agenda:
Ginger Livingston can be contacted at glivingston@apgenc.com and 252-329-9570.
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