Planning board approves revised battery-storage site at 3695 Broadway

The planning board voted to approve a revised site plan for a battery-storage facility at 3695 Broadway after the applicant made several design changes aimed at reducing visual and noise impacts and addressing access concerns. Project attorney Peter Sorgey and Kim Shook Sharma, representing AC Power, presented the updates before the vote.

Sorgey said the team removed previously proposed barbed wire and revised the access arrangement so the facility will use an existing driveway rather than the curb cut that the DOT indicated would not be approved. “We got rid of the barbed wire and just made the fence 7 feet,” Sorgey told the board, noting a variance had been filed with the ZBA because the National Electric Code requires a 7-foot fence in this context.

Sharma outlined the site improvements: she said the northern face of the fence was pushed back 21 feet, the battery systems were condensed into five units and pushed back about 40 feet from their original placement, and the overall footprint was reduced from about an acre to less than 0.7 acres. “We condensed our footprint from about an acre when we started to less than 0.7 acres at this point,” Sharma said.

Board members questioned the setbacks and sightlines; the applicant said moving the fence back improved visibility for nearby residences. They also discussed the curb-cut location and DOT review; Sorgey said the utility and DOT raised concerns about the left-side curb cut and that the proposal had been revised to use the existing driveway to the right.

A motion to approve the revised plan was moved and seconded; the board voted in favor and the motion carried. The applicant had earlier filed a variance with the ZBA for the fence height requirement.