Commission approves solar‑farm application at Three Judge Bridge/Judge Road site

The Roxbury commission voted to approve a solar‑farm application for the Three Judge Bridge/Judge Road site after brief discussion about access and wetland buffers.

Commissioners opened the old‑business item with members who had visited the site reporting that construction access is flagged from Botzford Hill rather than the existing driveway. Members debated whether the project lay inside the wetlands buffer and whether it should be handled as a regulated activity; one commissioner noted the site is within the buffer, which would trigger fee collection and regulation.

After discussion a motion was made to approve the application as a regulated activity and was seconded. The chair called for a verbal vote and the motion carried; the transcript records the vote as verbally entered but does not provide a complete roll‑call tally by name (the chair summarized the result verbally). The commission did not record additional conditions in the discussion before approval.

Why it matters: projects within wetlands buffers can trigger different permitting steps and fees and may require additional erosion‑control or mitigation measures before building work begins. The commission’s treatment of the application as a regulated activity signals the need to collect appropriate fees and to monitor erosion controls during construction.

What to watch next: the approval authorizes the applicant to proceed under the commission’s permitting process; the transcript does not include details about permit issuance timing, any required follow‑up inspections, or whether mitigation measures beyond the applicant’s submitted erosion‑control plan will be imposed.