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September 27th Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Members Present: Maggie Leonard; co-chair, Bridget Krans, Larry Klein, Barry Karson ,Stephen Enoch; co-chair, Alan Salamon and Roger Tryon
Public Present: Representative from the Berkshire Record (Emily) and Peter Valianos; representative for The Heimans.
- Meeting called to order at 7:12 PM. All members present.
- Business from the public: Peter Valianos was present to represent the Heimans regarding their special permit application. Leonard presented the draft she wrote regarding the permit. Both Leonard and Mr. Valianos stated that they assumed the property was Grandfathered. Other members of the board disagreed on going on an assumption. Mr. Valianos explained that only six inches was being added and the closest neighbor is at least 120 feet away. The members of the board agreed to add into the finding that Mr. Valianos assured the board that the property was Grandfathered. Based on the conversation Leonard will adjust the finding accordingly and submit it to the ZBA.
- Draft for large scale ground mounted solar bylaw: Salamon stated that of the three bylaws the board has been using as a guide the bylaw from the town of Easton was the most comprehensive. Klein stated that we will not be able to prevent commercial solar arrays but we should have restrictions as the board did for cell towers. Tryon stated that he was in favor of designing a bylaw that was space oriented rather than how many kw produced. Klein stated that you could not do that. Leonard respectfully disagreed, quoting Berkshire Regional Planning. Klein stated that large scale 250kw and commercial are synonymous. Karson questioned whether we should have a separate definition for residential and commercial. The board will continue the discussion on defining residential and
commercial. The board will also continue review of the draft submitted by Salamon.
- Setbacks for solar arrays: Leonard stated that if we rely on setbacks we do not need to do an overlay district. In the current proposed bylaw it is by right. Salamon stated that a critical aspect of the bylaw is a site plan review procedure. The board discussed various setback requirements. The big question was: “how close do you want a photovoltaic array from your house?”. Enoch stated that it is a structure and therefore should have the same regulations as a structure. Enoch stated that we could come up with a greater number but not a smaller one. Leonard stated that since 25 feet is the distance from a residence for a structure then maybe 50 feet for a solar array would be sufficient. This would be for front, side and rear. Klein responded stating that the board needed to be able to
justify the restrictions. Karson stated that because Monterey is mostly agricultural and residential he did not want to see any arrays close to the road. The board agreed to hear from some experts on the subject before making any decisions.
- Reports from board members: Salamon pointed stated that the minutes can be less informative and only put votes in the minutes and decisions. Karson prefers minutes with more detail. Krans will try to find a happy medium.
- Mail: Annual meeting at Pittsfield Country Club. John Olver will be the speaker on October 18th. Great Barrington special permit application granted to Café Adam. Great Barrington special permit application granted to Cumberland Farms. Citizen Planner Training collaboration schedule was received.
- Adjourned: at 8:55 PM
Submitted by, Bridget Krans
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