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Planning Board sets May 28 hearing for Aberdeen Farm solar project, finds SEQRA Type 2
Summary
The Town of Clinton Planning Board set a public hearing for May 28 on a ground-mounted solar proposal at Aberdeen Farm and determined the application to be a Type 2 SEQRA action, referring a zoning-capacity question to the zoning administrator for final interpretation.
The Town of Clinton Planning Board on the floor of its meeting set a public hearing for May 28 on an application to install three ground-mounted solar systems at Aberdeen Farm and ruled the submission a Type 2 action under SEQRA, meaning no additional environmental review is required for the components under consideration.
The applicant described three independent systems sized to serve individual residences on a 61-acre parcel. "We're hoping to step away from fossil fuels," said Jeff Irish, owner of Hudson Solar and Battery Solutions, who told the board each house has a separate meter and each array will be applied for and permitted separately. He described minimal permanent ground disturbance—installed with ground screws and short electrical trenches—and said modern modules have low reflectivity and were located to be out of view of neighboring roads and properties.
Board members focused discussion on a zoning question central to the application: whether the three independently metered installations on one parcel should be aggregated for the town's tier limits (25 kW in a Tier 2 designation). "Are they three systems, or is it one system or one site divided into three parts?" a board member asked; the applicant replied that from a utility and permitting standpoint each will stand on its own and will be handled as separate Central Hudson and NYSERDA applications.
Chair (speaker 1) told the applicants the board would refer the aggregation question to the zoning administrator for a formal interpretation. The board then voted to set a public hearing on May 28 and to classify the solar proposal as a Type 2 action for SEQRA purposes; both motions were seconded and carried.
What happens next: the board will publish a public-hearing notice for the May 28 meeting and await the zoning administrator's written determination on whether the three arrays' capacities should be combined for the town's tier calculation. The applicant said it will submit any requested clarifications to the board and expects to proceed with separate permit applications.
