Zoning board approves 10 solar canopies at Mount Tom Road property

The Northampton Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Feb. 5 to grant a zoning finding that allows Parallel Products Solar Energy LLC to install 10 solar canopies with utilities at 182 Mount Tom Road, an existing nonconforming auto salvage site.

At a continuation hearing, attorney Michael Monot, representing the applicant, said the team submitted renderings and detailed measurements requested at the board’s Jan. 8 meeting. Scott Daggett of Farland Corporation displayed the renderings and explained site elevations, telling the board that a berm and nearby railroad grade reduce how much of the canopies will be visible from Route 5. Daggett said the canopies’ low edges are roughly 17–17.8 feet above existing grade while the high edges are about 25–26 feet; separation between canopies is generally a little over 28 feet.

“[T]his development will include substantial improvements to the site, will be more visually appealing and, much more orderly,” attorney Monot said, noting the property owner has cleared the majority of vehicles from the lot. Phil Cavallo of Parallel Products added that, from the road, the site reads as industrial and the low-slung canopies will fit that context while screening salvage-yard materials and producing renewable energy.

Board members questioned how the canopies would be serviced and whether plantings should be required. Applicants said yard access across the railroad tracks provides service entry and that the proposed planting/bioretention plan — required by the Conservation Commission — is intended both to intercept potential petroleum runoff and to preserve existing trees at the top of the slope. Daggett described a phytoremediation planting mix placed near bioretention areas and said existing tall trees along the slope would not be altered.

In deliberations, board members said the proposal would both reduce the visual clutter associated with the salvage operation and introduce community benefits including solar generation and modestly increased open space. "I'm very comfortable with this," David Bloomberg said during deliberations, summarizing the board’s view that the project is "a substantial upgrade" compared with existing conditions.

The board closed the public hearing by roll call with no public speakers and then voted, by roll call, to grant the required finding that the proposed dual use would not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing nonconforming use. The vote was unanimous among the three voting members present.

The decision follows Conservation Commission review and conditions reflected in the plantings and stormwater treatment elements of the submitted landscape plan. The applicant may proceed with permits consistent with the board’s decision and the conditions already imposed by other reviewing bodies.