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ZBA delays Pond Street solar modification, orders fencing and site fixes
Summary
Next Grid asked to increase panel area and battery storage after an on‑site radio tower was slimmed to a monopole; the Zoning Board of Appeals continued the minor‑modification hearing to July 17 and told the developer to install perimeter fencing, fix stormwater issues and provide regular peer‑review reports before the board will grant formal modification approval.
The Norfolk Zoning Board of Appeals on June 17 continued a hearing on a modification to the Pond Street solar special permit after neighbors and board members raised safety and site‑management concerns.
Daniel Server, director of development for Next Grid, told the board the requested change is limited to a small area freed up when an on‑site shortwave radio tower is being decommissioned and replaced with a slimline pole. That change removed guywires and allowed Next Grid to add panels and “increase the capacity of our system and add additional solar panels… and increase the size of our battery storage system to accommodate that additional power,” Server said. He said the company paused broader construction to avoid buying the wrong battery or having to demobilize and remobilize construction while the battery issues were resolved.
Residents and some board members said they are more concerned about the existing condition of the site than the modest change to the solar field. Neighbors reported rock crushing, trucks using the site as an unpermitted quarry, sediment and stormwater flowing across the public road, the absence of the required fence and posted contact information, and what several speakers called a general “moonscape” that has lasted months. One abutter described safety risks from exposed guidewires near where children play and called for the site to be fenced immediately.
The project’s civil engineer with BSC Group, Brian (as listed in the record), said the graded back section of the parcel toward the police station appears to be ready for solar panels and that, subject to completing the planned drainage work, the applicant could proceed in that back area. The board signaled it favored allowing the back section to proceed while the front area and battery details remain under review, but it repeatedly instructed the applicant to install a perimeter fence and post contact information “ASAP” and to restore or stabilize areas producing runoff.
The ZBA moved to continue the Pond Street hearing to July 17 at 7:00 p.m. and asked the applicant to prioritize the fence, visible progress on stormwater stabilization and weekly peer‑review site inspections before the next session. The board said it was not opposed to the substance of the proposed modification but lacked confidence that the developer had remediated outstanding site conditions that were part of the previously issued special permit.
Next steps: the developer agreed to report back to town staff and the board with updates, and the ZBA will review documented fencing, peer‑review reports and stormwater work at the July 17 meeting before acting on the modification request.
