Decisions on Cortlandville Law On Solar Energy Systems, Battery Storage Tabled

Lily Byrne, X101 News:

The decision to change a local law on solar energy systems was tabled at the Cortlandville Town Board meeting Wednesday.

Town Councilman Glenn Reisweber distributed a survey to attendees, having them circle their top four concerns out of 22 listed.

“We were asked to review and update the current laws,” Reisweber said during a presentation on the committee’s work. “And, as part of it, recommend updates or new regulations that balance renewable energy development with community needs and values.”

During the Public Hearing on the matter, Loretta Burkely, a third-generation homeowner on Carr Hill Road, called the survey “soulless.”

“Something doesn’t sit right about having to pre-fill and put what I think is a complicated thought process on posters or blanket surveys,” she said.

“What’s the benefit of these solar panels?” Judy Leonard asked during the hearing. “Will they make our community a better place to live? Will these changes to our scenic countryside make Cortlandville more appealing to new residents? Will our energy bills go down?”

Leonard, who has lived on Carr Hill Road for over 50 years, said the proposed project is unacceptable.

“Solar companies want us to believe that it won’t interfere with our way of life,” she said. “What I see when I look outside right now is the beautiful countryside. What I’ll see if this project goes through, instead of crops growing in the fields, deer grazing, and the quiet serenity of the county, is a field of solar panels – seeing the glare, and listening to the humming noise that these panels make.”

“Our neighborhood has been attacked by commercial solar developers for a number of years now,” Berkely said. “You can hear the way they talk about the environment. They want to come and profit off of something that we hold dear and sincere in our community, and it just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s examining what they can extract.”

“I do not want to see my whole backside of the hill covered in solar fields, from one end to the other,” said Carr Hill Road resident Chavonne Laplant. “It’s heartbreaking.”

A Public hearing was set for 5:30 p.m. March 18 at the Raymond G. Municipal building regarding the proposed local law to extend the temporary solar moratorium in Cortlandville.

Attorney Keegan Coughlin of Coughlin & Gerhart, representing the town, advised the board to table decisions on both that and the repealing and replacing of Chapter 64 of the Town Code Entitled Battery Energy Storage Systems, which they did.

“There was a lot of feedback given,” Coughlin said. “We’re working on finalizing those recommendations.”

The Public Hearings are a result of two projects presented to the Cortlandville Planning Board, both on Carr Hill Road. The projects, OMNI Cortlandville Solar LLC, and Zogg East & West, both propose to build solar fields, with Zogg also proposing battery storage facilities. OMNI Cortlandville Solar LLC looks to construct a nearly 24 acre solar field at 3877 Carr Hill Road, with just over 11,500 solar panels. Zogg East & West is being developed by CP Cortlandville One LLC, an affiliate of ClearPath Energy LLC of Boston.

Robert Romine, Director of Development at Clearpath Energy, critiqued the proposed law during the Public Hearing, saying certain proposed regulations of mineral soil and slope percentage regulations are “unworkable” and “more or less blanket ban” on land in Cortlandville.

Also at the meeting, the Town Board accepted the Request For Proposal from “Prime 67 Market & Deli,” one of the three proposed concession facilities for the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex.

“I liked the menu and the ingredients from Prime 67, from a revenue and operational standpoint,” said Councilperson Sunday Earle. “Athletes want healthy food when they’re competing, and the sandwiches are exactly what I know my baseball player and his team would want.”

Councilperson David Donlick agreed, adding that Prime 67 wants to hire local people.