SOUTHWICK – The Board of Appeals held a public hearing at the land use room of the town hall on Monday night. The hearing was centered on a petition that was requested by Clear Footprint LLC, a development company out of Central Florida that distributes solar arrays.
The petition was focused on the open-field, 2.08 acre property of 22 Tannery Road. The owner of the Tannery Road property, Scott Lamon, was contacted by Clear Footprint LLC, as they were interested in having solar arrays installed on the property.
Clear Footprint was represented at the meeting by Frank Westgate of Westgate Land Survey, a partner to Clear Footprint for this particular project. The request was that they want a 20 foot setback on the front of the property as well as a side setback of 30 feet so the solar array can be built on the lot.
As the Board of Appeals stated that in the bylaws, the setback has to be a total of 75 feet, Clear Footprint’s measurements of 20 feet and 30 feet don’t add up to that standard.
Clear Footprint presented their hardship in their petition, believing that the strict enforcements of the requirements from the Board of Appeals would make it a hardship from a business point of view.
Board of Appeals, June 13, 2016
Board of Appeals Chairman Paul Gregoire, Associate Member Christopher Mastroianni, and member Thomas Stapleton came up with the agreement that they would decline the petition request at that moment.
Westgate then made the decision to withdraw the request without prejudice and come up with a new request in the near future. Mastroianni made the motion to accept the withdrawal without prejudice.
Lamon voiced his opinion as the owner of the property and the potential outcome there could be with having solar arrays as an option that he noted to be viable and environmentally friendly.
“Everybody benefits, the larger this array, that’s my stake in this”, said Lamon. “I think it’s perfect for the town, perfect for the lot, and I think it’s a win for the taxpayers.”
