Mark Twichell, standing at right, listens as Pomfret Town Board member Brett Christy, gesturing at the table, speaks during a public hearing Wednesday about a proposed solar energy farm off Van Buren Drive. Standing at left is John Reagan of RIC Energy, the outfit that wants to erect the farm. Photo by M.J. Stafford

The Pomfret Town Board voted 4-1 to approve a solar farm off Van Buren Drive, pending an environmental quality review of the project.

With a few nearby property owners voicing anger about the project in a public hearing before the vote, board members seemed reluctant to approve it. However, they were apparently swayed by changes RIC Energy made to its plan, after a previous public hearing in June and a letter from residents of nearby Bernett Drive requested numerous alterations. The “no” vote came from John Sedota.

John Reagan of RIC Energy showed up again Wednesday to tout the plan, this time bringing a civil engineer, Chris Chapman, and landscape architect Matt Callan with him. Reagan highlighted the changes in the plan since June. They include an increase in setbacks of the solar panels from the property lines, and changes in landscaping to make it less visible to nearby residents.

Zen Olow, who lives nearby and is a vocal opponent of the plan, said he would still be able to see the farm from the second floor of his house. Reagan said existing trees near his house are 45 feet tall and would remain to help screen it. Olow retorted that the trees are dead or dying. Callan mentioned that a buffer zone of vegetation between the farm and Olow’s property has been increased to 90 feet.

A nearby grape farmer, Chuck Silwa, expressed concern about disruption of water runoff. Chapman said the only thing that will be changed near his farm is that a gravel access road will be altered, possibly including the addition of culverts. “The drainage at that site will remain as is,” he asserted.

Chapman noted that the state requires that these projects do not increase water runoff. Spacing out the panels, and planting thick meadow grass below them, will keep the runoff low, he said. In fact, computer models show less runoff from the site when the farm is in, than there is now, he added.

Olow said the site of the farm was not trees, it was low brush. “Why don’t you walk the ground before you vote on it?” he asked the board.

Mark Twichell, a Temple Street resident who is more or less Fredonia’s top skeptic on solar and wind farms, then wondered why there was no decommissioning plan and no environmental impact statement. He was assured by town officials and Reagan that a decommissioning plan is required and that an environmental impact statement is forthcoming.

Twichell also mentioned noise concerns and the sacrifice of agricultural soil to the project. Reagan said only one piece of equipment, a transformer, will make “a slight hum,” with a noise comparable to a cooling fan that can’t be detected from 100 feet away. He said the county Planning Department had made a determination that no land currently in use for agriculture would have that usage changed for the project.

“You can walk out the front door and you can be within 200 feet of about six different transformers of this size, and I would ask you if you could hear them outside that front door,” said town board member Brett Christy. “I do get your point. Not an issue.”

“I was on Bernett today, I was on the property today, I was on Van Buren today,” he said a bit later. “Your neighbor’s air conditioner is 10 times louder than the transformers that are in your front lawn.”

“So you did an official study that you can say it’s 10 times? I don’t think you did an official study. So don’t say it then,” Olow responded.

Sedota stated soon after, “I haven’t heard from anybody in the public who is in favor of this. … I’m inclined to listen to the public.” He asked Reagan how the town as a whole would benefit from the project.

“This is an allowable use by local law,” Reagan said. “We made changes that went far beyond the local law (requirements). There will be a revenue component for your town.” He added that nearby residents will see about a 10 percent decrease in utility bills after National Grid buys power from the project.

The nearby property owners then expressed fears their properties would lose value. One man lamented how his neighbors created an overflow crowd 50 years ago to oppose a proposed trailer park in the area, which was never built, but seemed less unified about, or interested in, opposition to the solar farm plan.

Board member Christopher Schaeffer stated, “Everything that the board has asked, they’ve done. They’ve gone out of their way to make everyone happy. They’re a fairly honorable company.”

Later, after the hearing ended, town Supervisor Dan Pacos suggested to the board that if they wanted to act on the proposal at that time, they should do it pending receipt of the environmental quality review. That review will be done by Chautauqua County, which Pacos said is considered the “lead agency” of the project.

Board member Ann Eckman asked if they could reject the plan based on any negative findings in the review. Pacos said they could.

Schaefer wondered if RIC Energy could simply go to the state or the county for approval if Pomfret turned the project down. Town Attorney Jeffrey Passafaro was not present Wednesday but Pacos said he would ask him. However, “I’ve had similar conversations with him in the past and I’m thinking that’s an option,” the supervisor said.

“I have been all over the board on this,” said Eckman. “I have walked that property. I live on (nearby) Ventura Circle. Any decision I make has been hard-thought.”

“This isn’t the first large solar project in the town of Pomfret,” Christy said. “There’s several going on now.” In fact, according to Code Enforcment Officer Warren Kelly, there are four in all.

That includes a somewhat smaller project planned by Buffalo Solar Solutions for a parcel behind the Shur-Fine store on Route 60, just outside the village of Cassadaga. The board approved a hearing on that Wednesday, setting it for 6 p.m. before its next scheduled meeting on Sept. 8.

When Wednesday’s vote on the RIC Energy proposal came, Pacos echoed Eckman and said, “I’ve been all over the board on this. I was not in favor … we did ask Reagan and his company to take the concerns into consideration, and they have.” The supervisor also stated that no one can be sure the value of nearby properties will be lowered by the solar project, as sale prices are dependent on various market conditions.

Olow appeared unimpressed with any of the arguments in favor of the farm. After the 4-1 vote in favor of it, he said, “I think we’re done here,” stood up and briskly walked out of the meeting room. The other opponents of the plan followed within a minute or two. They huddled outside in the parking lot, expressing their anger and discussing their next steps.

Later on, Sedona opined, “I can’t see the justification in cutting down trees to build a solar farm. … I’m concerned with the volume of requests. I don’t want to see the town of Pomfret turned into a giant solar farm.”

Pacos said he was cognizant the farms often pit neighbor against neighbor. “I’m not saying, ‘let’s cram it down their throat.’ But we gotta be realistic. Any time we build something, we take down trees.”

“I appreciate that people should be able to use their land as they see fit,” Sedota said. “This is a little different than building a garage.”