TOWN OF WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A full house at Friday night’s town of Watertown board meeting. Many of them were there because of a planned solar project.
Developer Mike Lundy is requesting zoning approval for an agrivoltaic site along Summit Valley Drive. Essentially, it’d be a solar farm, with land maintained by grazing sheep. It’d help power buildings at the nearby Washington summit complex.
“We’re not trying to do something to be disruptive or offensive. We think this is a tremendous benefit to Washington Summit,” said Mike Lundy.
A number of residents, however, disagree with Lundy.
“I’m not thrilled with the idea at all,” said one resident.
“The beauty of this land is going to disappear if we allow these things to keep happening. When does it stop? When does it stop?” asked another resident.
Aesthetics and pollutants were a concern, and for some, it boiled down to money.
“I don’t know. I’m a little bit scared about what could happen to my property value,” said one resident.
“I bought my house for an investment, and I’ve really worked on keeping it nice. I don’t want to end up selling my house for a loss,” said another resident.
Not everyone was against the project, however.
“We really need ways of having alternative energy. No one wants it in our backyard, but this is my backyard, and I’m willing,” said David Rechlin.
Lundy claims the solar project would be effectively invisible. Friday night, he revised the zoning request to omit solar panels on the south side of the property and instead construct a berm, or manmade hill, populated with trees to conceal the panels.
“The berm would be 250 feet off the road with a landscaping berm in front of the solar. You’re not going to see this at all from the road,” said Lundy.
The board voted 4 to 1 in favor of Lundy’s zoning change.
Copyright 2026 WWNY. All rights reserved.

source