Proposed Unity Township solar farm nixed by 3-2 zoning board vote

The developers of a proposed solar farm haven’t decided whether to appeal rejection of the plans by the Unity Township zoning hearing board.

The board nixed the plans for the site along Charles Houck Road in Unity Township after the developer and township officials clashed on determining if the facility would exceed space restrictions for the site.

After at least a dozen hours of testimony spread across four hearing sessions since late June, the board voted 3-2 to deny a special exception needed under township rules for agriculturally-zoned land.

Joseph Stas has said the proposed solar array would be installed within a fenced-in area of about 20 acres on his 62-acre property. He said he’s discussed leasing the site for an initial 20 years to GreenKey Solar, which would install and operate the array, to generate electricity for sale.

Stas said he was disappointed by the zoning panel’s vote and is discussing with GreenKey their potential next step.

They have a 30-day window to appeal that vote in Westmoreland County Court. Zoning hearing board Solicitor David DeRose indicated the appeal period might not begin until he issues a formal opinion setting forth the zoning panel’s decision.

“I think we have an excellent project that’s good for all the stakeholders involved,” Stas said. At the hearing, he referred to a poster listing some benefits of solar power, including reduced carbon emissions.

GreenKey representatives have cited studies indicating there is no proof solar farms cause a depreciation in surrounding property values.

Local residents who testified were skeptical of those findings.

Zoning board members Kathy Matta, Gabe Monzo and Dorothy Zello voted to deny the exception, overruling fellow members Jackie Nindel and John Inselmini.

During Wednesday’s final hearing session, Zello wondered if the site might add to traffic concerns on the two-lane road.

“It’s a bad spot for traffic,” she said. “Cars fly there.”

Tracy Tackett, permitting coordinator for GreenKey Solar, testified there would be truck traffic to the property during construction of the array — a process that could take anywhere from three months to six months, depending on weather conditions. She said a landscaping contractor would visit several times per year to maintain the site.

Tackett said the array would consist of about 12,800 solar panels. They would have a combined surface area of about 386,500 square feet. She said there would be gaps at least 12 feet wide to provide walkways among the panels.

After the hearing, Monzo said he didn’t feel comfortable moving the proposed solar project forward based on the information presented to the zoning hearing board.

“I’m not saying it was good, bad or indifferent,” he said of the project, which is the first solar array proposed in Unity. “Before we do it and set a precedent, I want to make sure everything is where it needs to be.”

Monzo said he wanted a better understanding of how the solar array would look when installed on the Stas property.

Tackett said passing motorists might see glimpses of the array that would sit on a hill. She said trees Stas has planted, once grown, would further conceal the solar panels.

“Because of the rolling hills, some people will see more than others,” Stas said.

He said he planned to plant red maple and birch trees around the perimeter.

“We’re going to try to make it as attractive as possible,” he said.

Township Solicitor Gary Falatovich said GreenKey failed to provide a scaled, surveyed drawing that would indicate the size of the area to be covered by the solar array.

Tackett argued that more detailed plans typically would not be required in a request for a special exception and should be provided once a project has passed that initial hurdle and is evaluated based on land development regulations.

The parties disagreed on how to interpret the term “coverage” when describing the maximum area a development can occupy on a given size property in a given zoning district.

Township zoning officer Harry Hosack said he normally considers only the area occupied by buildings as counting toward coverage limits.

But, noting there is no precedent for a solar array in the township, he said he would measure the perimeter around the installed array and count all the area inside as coverage.

He said he would consider the collection of solar panels a single structure, describing them as one connected electrical system.

“That’s just baffling to me that that is how you’re interpreting it,” Tackett responded. She pointed out there would be gaps of open ground in between panels.

“Counting solar panels as a building is not common usage of the word coverage,” she said, adding later, “It’s been six months and suddenly there’s a determination that solar panels are buildings and building coverage.

“This makes no sense. I feel like it’s just a continuation of a witch hunt.”

A maximum 20% lot coverage is allowed in an agricultural zone, Hosack said.

That would limit the GreenKey development to about 12 acres, based on Stas’s 62-acre property — but only 4 acres, if just the 20 acres intended for the project is counted.

Tackett said the surface area of the solar panels — along with pads to support related equipment, a proposed driveway and an existing building and parking area — would total 10.65 acres.

DeRose allowed the township to show the zoning board photos Hosack took on a visit to a larger solar array developed by a different company nearby in Cook Township, a municipality that lacks zoning regulations.

Complaints about the Cook array were part of previous testimony at the Unity sessions, but DeRose said the photos should be considered only to support Hosack’s explanation of how he would determine a solar array’s coverage area.