The City of Cortland Planning Commission met last night at City Hall for their monthly meeting. One of the items on the agenda was the preliminary review of a proposed solar field off of Pendleton Street in the City of Cortland.
The solar field, located at 136 South Pendleton Street, is considered by the EPA as a brownfield with little to no development possibilities as the ground is “capped” underneath to contain contaminants.
The company, Davis Hill Development, LLC. looks to build a 2.8 Megawatt field with fixed tilt solar arrays on nearly 10 acres of the 18 acre property. In the application, Davis Hill states the project would produce little to no noise, no ambient lighting, and will be maintained continuously throughout its life. The total cost for the project is estimated at $8.5 million.
“I think it is a terrific use for the brownfield. Looking over your proposal sent out… It looked very thorough.” Said City of Cortland Planning Commission Member Brendan McGovern.
The rest of the commission’s view was positive. Noting the completeness of the application. Plans for a solar field on the lot date back to 2020 with the previous city administration. The City of Cortland Common Council voted to approve a lease agreement with Davis Hill back on July 18th.
No action was taken by the commission other than the commission voting to for the city to be the lead agency on the process. Davis Hill Development plans to return to the next planning commission meeting slated for September 25th at City Hall.
