The proposed site plan for the 0 Lafayette Street solar project. Contributed / Yarmouth Planning Board

At a meeting on Feb. 26, the Yarmouth Planning Board workshopped a proposed solar project near the Holy Cross Cemetery. The project, called “0 Lafayette Street” at this time, faced widespread opposition from residents, particularly those of the abutting neighborhoods, as in written public comment and expressed at the meeting.

“All the neighbors I’ve talked to are pretty much against it,” said Yarmouth resident Denis Blanchette, who lives near the proposed project and gathered 25 signatures for his neighbors in opposition to the project.

“I don’t think it’s wise use of land,” he said.

This preliminary review was requested by the project applicants, New Leaf Energy, a renewable energy developer based in Lowell, Massachusetts. The potential solar panels would be on land leased from Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which also owns the adjacent Holy Cross Cemetery. The solar project would use a 12-acre undeveloped parcel and would require the clearance of 8 acres of wooded area. The Riverside Cemetery and Royal River are also nearby.

The developers estimate the potential solar project will produce 3 million kilowatt hours of clean energy annually, enough to power about 760 Maine homes whose owners buy into the clean energy at a discount to their electric bills of 10-15%. The project would be connected to Central Maine Power grid and aims to start operating by 2027. New Leaf Energy, acting as Yarmouth Solar 1, would develop the project and then sell it to a buyer that is still undetermined.

Greg Rosshirt, a project developer for New Leaf Energy, presented the solar project proposal at the Yarmouth Planning Board meeting and answered questions with New Leaf Energy civil engineer Annie Cornell.

“We know that the Holy Cross Cemetery is a sensitive property for everyone in town, and it was important for us from the start to make sure that we weren’t disturbing operations at the cemetery,” said Rosshirt.

Residents said the project would disturb visitors to the cemetery, local homeowners and those who recreate in the undeveloped plot owned by the Diocese. Glare and noise from solar panels were also concerns for those living in the surrounding area.

“I’m concerned about the proposed project lowering property values from my home and my neighbors’ homes. I’m concerned about the project emitting noise pollution as well as glare and light pollution,” said Stacey Chase, who has lived near the proposed project site for 13 years.

The representatives from New Leaf Energy said that the solar panels would not be visible to residents and neither the clear of trees for the project nor the panels themselves would be very visible to visitors to the cemetery.

“There is absolutely no chance of project visibility from nearby residential neighbors,” said Rosshirt.

An aerial photo with the solar project site location starred. Contributed / Yarmouth Planning Board

The area for the proposed project is zoned as a Medium-Density Residential District, Low-Density Residential District and Shoreland Overlay Zone. For the solar project to be approved, it would have to receive a special exemption from the Yarmouth Planning Board

Public utilities are eligible for a special exemption in zoning. At the Feb. 26 meeting, Planning Board members were unsure if the solar project would be considered a public utility, as solar farms are not included in the list of public utilities and there had not been a precedent. Director of Planning and Development Erin Zwirko said that for an exception to be approved, proposed projects also had to meet a higher standard than permitted use.

Some residents encouraged the developers to find another location for the project, such as already developed land in Yarmouth, rooftops or the dump.

“I and my neighbors, many of my neighbors, do not feel that a commercial solar energy project belongs in this neighborhood. It’s a residential district, and we feel that it would irreparably damage the character of the surrounding neighborhood,” said Chase.

“It would be an eyesore, in short,” she said.

New Leaf Energy said there will be no impact to endangered species or an archeological area by the project. While the site abuts a wetland, they said that because the project would maintain a meadow underneath the solar panels, they believed they would qualify for a waiver allowing the project.

In addition to concern about damaging the wetlands, residents were opposed to the removal of trees and subsequent negative impacts to soil erosion and carbon sequestration.

“Renewable energy doesn’t mean that is has to be destructive at the expense of the natural environment and the people who live in it. I’m asking the board to consider an alternate location for this (solar) farm,” said resident Raya Kouletsis.

“Clear cutting any amount of acreage has harmful environmental impacts,” she said.

Through public comment, numerous residents also said that the timeline for submitting public comment, and the project as a whole, felt exceptionally expedited. Many homeowners in the area did not receive notice of the potential project and hearing, and only got word from their neighbors. Those who did receive notice said they only had a week to submit written public comment.

Zwirko said that that timeline for notice was typical. For site plan review, requirements dictate that notices are sent to property owners within 500 feet of a project, which is only a portion of the surrounding residences. The notices were sent on Feb. 5, well before the required 10-day window before the project review meeting.

“It probably does not reach as many interested properties as interest has been generated, but that is the requirement,” said Zwirko.

At the meeting, no residents or Planning Board member spoke in support of the project. An update about the consideration of the plan will be given on Wednesday, March 12.

“It seems like it’s one of the quietest, fastest, largest projects that Yarmouth has had that is just getting raced through, and (the town) really needs to take the time to think about this,” said resident Willie Thomas.