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Lee — On the heels of voters approving a new Clean Energy zoning bylaw last month, the Open Door Community Church is slated to test out the new provision with a request to construct a medium-sized solar photovoltaic installation on its 87 Summer Street property.
The group filed a special permit application on October 6, within a week of the provision’s passage on October 1, for a project that would link multiple solar panels together to generate electricity. The Lee Planning Board scheduled a public hearing on the matter for 6:15 p.m. on November 23 at the Lee Town Hall Courtroom.
The Open Door Community Church special permit application summary can be found here.
The request proposes to create a ground-mounted solar array and related underground utility infrastructure on a site that has already been developed within the church’s tract. The flag-shaped lot is zoned residential and surrounded by homes on three sides, with one side fronted by Mandalay Road. Applicants state that most of the parcel is made up of forest and meadow, with its center portion—that houses existing buildings and cleared areas—planned to accommodate the array and infrastructure.
“Furthermore, as a passive use, the array will not generate traffic, emit noise, or place any additional demands on municipal systems,” the application summary states.
According to Mark Harris, who serves on the church’s board of trustees, the project will encompass about 1,920 square feet of the 30-acre parcel and include 80 to 84 panels, for a generating capacity of 37.38 kilowatts DC. The documents show the array to be about 121 feet long and 13 feet tall. Additionally, according to the application, the array will be placed in a lower area of the tract, making it less visible, and no trees will be removed for the project.
Harris, who is also a part-time employee of the Town of Lee and a local real estate agent, said he expects the project to offset the church’s current energy costs. Once the pending special permit is approved, he said weather and contractor availability will determine the endeavor’s timeline.
The site plan for the Open Door Community Church proposed solar voltaic system can be found here, courtesy of the Town of Lee.
The application states that undeveloped areas and adjacent resources won’t be disturbed. “Within those constraints, the array location was selected to optimize solar production,” the filing provides.
Harris estimates the church has about 100 parishioners.
During the latest Town Meeting, Lee residents handed a green light to a warrant article that reorganized local zoning regulations, crafting new bylaws governing battery energy storage systems (BESS) and renewable energy projects, permitting regulations the town lacked. As a result, Lee adopted a new Clean Energy section of its bylaws.
“We decided and contracted to do this project last year, which as you know, was prior to the new bylaws,” Harris said. “It is my understanding that the plans were amended to adhere to the new bylaws at the request of Town Hall officials.”
The Planning Board had been working on BESS provisions for quite a while, and some of the new regulations govern facilities that stockpile excess electricity as a renewable energy source. The push was driven by Gov. Maura Healey, who signed an executive order in March aimed at bringing more renewable energy into the state and requiring municipalities to adopt corresponding bylaws, including a system to evaluate development permits for the facilities, by October 1.
Lee’s new Clean Energy Bylaw can be found here.
According to local bylaws, this type of solar photovoltaic installation cannot be taller than 15 feet, with lighting limited to what is necessary for safety and operations, “reasonably shielded from abutting properties,” and directed downward. Only one sign at the site is allowed that identifies who operates the installation and a small sign at its perimeter providing emergency contact information.
For medium-sized projects such as this one, owners must make a reasonable effort to minimize visual impact, preserve natural vegetation, and screen abutting properties, and they may add a fence for security. When the installation reaches the end of its useful life or is abandoned, the owner or operator must decommission it. If they don’t, the action falls to the town, which can recover its costs from the responsible party.
The Lee Planning Board is required to consent to the special permit for the project to proceed.
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