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Simsbury committee launches building‑guidelines working group and Solar Charette for businesses
Summary
The committee began drafting voluntary building and planning guidelines (checklist items such as solar readiness and dark‑skies lighting) and launched planning for a business‑focused Solar Charette and the annual sustainability fair, aiming to engage EDC, Main Street, the Chamber and the Green Bank.
Committee members agreed to form a working group to draft voluntary building and planning guidance that would recommend practices—solar siting, zero‑emission HVAC readiness, dark‑skies lighting—early in project planning and to share rationale with stakeholders. The chair said the guidance would be a loose checklist to raise questions for developers and builders rather than create new regulatory obligations.
Members noted planning and zoning recently adopted a dark‑skies policy and suggested borrowing language used by nearby towns. Britney McGalpin was identified as an assistant town planner who helped craft dark‑skies language previously. Members emphasized including the rationale for each recommended practice so stakeholders unfamiliar with technical issues can weigh tradeoffs.
Separately, the committee kicked off planning for a business Solar Charette to be paired with outreach to the EDC, Simsbury Main Street and the Chamber of Commerce. The Solar Charette is intended as a facilitated, non‑vendor session for businesses to surface barriers and next steps; committee members said the event would be planned in early spring with an informational summary published later in 2026. The committee discussed involving the Green Bank and other local businesses with existing solar arrays as peer examples.
