Commissioners deny Fayetteville PWC solar farm rezoning after neighbors raise noise, runoff and visibility concerns

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on May 19 denied a conditional rezoning request from the City of Fayetteville Public Works Commission to convert about 45 acres near Carvers Falls Road from Planned Neighborhood Development (PND) to an A1(CZ) agricultural conditional district for a solar panel farm.

The request, identified as case ZON240031, would have allowed Fayetteville PWC to site a roughly 5-megawatt solar array adjacent to an existing substation and reduce the utility's purchases from Duke Energy. Planning staff and the applicant said the project includes a 50-foot streetscape buffer, a perimeter mix of plantings and a wood stockade fence with barbed wire, and anti-glare panels and lighting limited to downlighting to address glare concerns raised by nearby military airfields.

Planning staff recommended approval and reported that the Planning Board approved the request 7-0. The applicant, represented in public comment by David Deshawn, director of engineering for Fayetteville PWC, and consulting engineer Bradley Martin of Booth & Associates, presented studies and said meetings with neighbors and the nearby military compatibility review group (RULAC) led to design changes including glare studies, limits on lighting and expanded planting.…