Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Falmouth planning board splits over undergrounding utility lines for large solar project; town counsel warns against off‑record evidence
Loading...
Summary
At a Feb. 10 hearing on a large ground‑mounted solar project, the board advanced discussion of ASD Cape Cod Holdings/Pure Sky's revised plans (wildlife corridor, driveway relocation, battery siting) but debated whether to require burial of utility lines off site. Town counsel warned that conditions must be based on the hearing record and cautioned against relying on ex‑parte contacts with Eversource.
At a continued site‑plan hearing Feb. 10, the Falmouth Planning Board reviewed revisions to a proposed large ground‑mounted solar array by ASD Cape Cod Holdings (Pure Sky) and engaged in a prolonged debate about whether the board can or should require burial of utility lines beyond the project boundary.
Applicant counsel Matt Terry presented plan updates that responded to public and board feedback: relocated driveways to avoid tree clusters, adjusted earth berms, added wildlife corridor openings (52–93 feet) to preserve connectivity to nearby conservation land and vernal pools, and refinements to the trail network and staging areas. Project engineer Raul Lizardi Rivera described drainage basins ranging from 18 inches to depressions about 6 feet deep designed to mimic existing topography.
Lawrence Cook of Pure Sky explained the proposed electrical layout: equipment pads and battery storage locations for east, west and south arrays, with underground conduit from equipment pads to pole‑mounted interconnection equipment. He said Eversource’s initial interconnection materials designed for the project call for pole‑mounted equipment in several places, while the applicant will place underground conduit on‑site where feasible.
A board member accused Chair John Druelly of holding private (ex‑parte) conversations with Eversource about the project; several members raised concerns about receiving information outside the administrative record. Town Counsel Maura O’Keefe told the board that "if any of you learn information on your own, outside of this meeting, outside of the referrals, outside of the application, it is inappropriate for you to base any condition on that information. It will be deemed per se unreasonable." She emphasized that reasonable conditions must be based on the record (application materials, referrals and staff reports) to withstand legal challenge.
Board members divided on the question of requiring burial of off‑site distribution or transmission lines: several members supported pursuing more undergrounding to reduce visual impact along Boxberry Hill Road, while staff and the applicant argued the bylaw’s undergrounding language applies to on‑site utility connections and that burying off‑site distribution lines would create major cost, schedule and engineering implications typically governed by the utility and interconnection studies.
Town staff and applicant agreed to circulate draft conditions and Cape Cod Commission and other referral comments for review; Matt Terry said the applicant could be prepared to have a decision drafted for the board’s Feb. 24 meeting, barring a request for extension, while staff reminded members that the decision deadline runs to Feb. 27 absent an extension and that an approval requires four affirmative votes before the deadline.
The board did not make a final decision Feb. 10; members asked staff to include Eversource referrals and to clarify the record and the precise scope of any undergrounding condition at a future meeting. Town counsel recommended the board schedule a separate meeting to discuss broader policy questions about utility burial and to avoid conflating those questions with the present site‑specific review.
