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. Deshawn said the project is intended to reduce the utility's carbon footprint and help stabilize future rates via federal tax incentives; he told commissioners the array would offset electricity Fayetteville PWC purchases rather than add system capacity.

Neighbors and community members testified with concerns about stormwater, tree-clearing, visibility and noise from inverters. Russ Bryant, whose family owns property on Carvers Falls Road, said the area is a long-preserved natural site and questioned whether buffers and retention features in the plan would be sufficient. Bryant also said the soils near the waterfall are clay-heavy and do not absorb water quickly; he said he was told by the applicant that a retention pond would be included but saw inconsistent representations about whether that pond would be permanent.

Booth & Associates engineer Bradley Martin said sound and glare studies were done and that the design would result in a projected 20% reduction in water runoff compared with current conditions. Martin said the firm recommends anti-glare panels and that the loudest measurement at a similar existing Fayetteville site was about 51 decibels outside the fence. Planning staff noted there is a DEQ permitting process that would handle final stormwater requirements.

Commissioners debated compatibility with the newly adopted 2024 North Central Area land use plan, which designates most of the site as open space. They also discussed the dormant PND zoning and what uses could be built under current entitlements. Planning Director Ross Howard said the site's PND classification is a legacy designation and that residential development could be permitted under equivalent modern districts; a conditional rezoning would tie use to the presented site plan.

A motion to approve the rezoning was made earlier in the meeting but later a motion to deny the request was offered by Commissioner Adams, who cited inconsistency with the land use plan, unresolved noise and runoff concerns, and uncertainty about the retention measures. The final roll-call on the denial recorded five votes in favor (Commissioner (Counsel), Vice Chairwoman Jones, Chairman DeViere, Commissioner Faircloth and Commissioner Adams) and two opposed (Commissioner Tyson and Commissioner Patel); the board therefore denied the rezoning request.

The applicant may revise the proposal and pursue additional permitting steps if it elects to do so; the county's staff review and DEQ permitting remain requirements for any future plan. The project proponents and opponents requested continued engagement: PWC said it had met with neighbors and the base, while neighbors asked for enforceable, site-specific commitments on stormwater, buffering and inverter noise.

Votes and formal actions

- Motion to deny rezoning ZON240031 (mover: Commissioner Glenn Adams). Outcome: denied the rezoning (motion to deny passed). Vote: yes — Commissioner Counsel, Vice Chairwoman Jones, Chairman Kirk J. DeViere, Commissioner Faircloth, Commissioner Adams; no — Commissioner Tyson, Commissioner Patel.

Why it matters

The decision blocks a planned utility-owned solar installation near a sensitive natural area and near military airfields. It highlights local tensions common to siting renewable infrastructure: balancing decarbonization and rate-stability goals with neighborhood impacts (stormwater, noise, viewshed) and consistency with adopted land use plans.

Provenance

- topicintro: transcript block at 2616.615 (Ross Howard presentation of Case ZON240031: "So, as county manager Grier mentioned, this is Case Z 0 N 240031... located just to the East of Ramsey Street...") - topfinish: transcript block at 4764.565 (vote tally and denial: "Voting in favor of Commissioner Counsel, Vice Chairwoman Jones, Chairman De Beyer, Commissioner Faircloth and Commissioner Adams.")