Outdoor Seating Approved For White Lion Brewery, Discussion Of Solar Bylaw Begins

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Planning Board, August 2, 2023

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Doug Marshall (Chair), Bruce Coldham, Fred Hartwell, Jesse Mager, Johanna Neumann, Absent: Janet McGowan and Karin Winter.

Staff: Chris Brestrup (Planning Director), Steve McCarthy (Administrative Assistant).

Six attendees were present on Zoom

Seasonal Outdoor Dining Approved For White Lion Brewery
Ray Berry, owner of White Lion Brewery at 24 North Pleasant Street, applied to reinstate the outdoor seating installed at the High Horse bar and restaurant, which previously occupied the site. Because the High Horse has been closed for over two years, its permit for outdoor dining had expired, and Berry had to apply to the Planning Board for a new permit. 

Berry’s plan has 32 seats under the overhang at the front of the restaurant. The tables, lighting, concrete, benches, and wrought iron fence have been refurbished. There will be no propane heaters, which could be unsafe to operate under the overhang. Two security cameras have been installed. The benches are permanent, but any chairs used will be brought in at closing. The outdoor seating will be available during the hours the establishment is open. Although new lighting was installed, all lighting is under the canopy overhang, so there will be no uplighting and it will be turned off when the restaurant is closed.

Like the White Lion in Springfield, there will be no table service. Patrons will place their orders inside, and the food will then be delivered to their table. Jesse Mager and Fred Hartwell from the Planning Board made a site visit and had no criticisms of the design. The fire department and building commissioner approved the plan. The Planning Board voted 5-0 to approve it as well.

Hartwell pointed out that article 11.2113 of the zoning bylaw that the White Lion was approved under did not seem to exist. Planning Director Chris Brestrup responded that the Board member copies of the bylaw are  out of date, but the article is in the on-line version .  She said that the Planning Department has not had funds to print up-to-date copies of the bylaw, but will do so with the new fiscal year budget. 

Board Introduced To Proposed Solar Bylaw
Brestrup introduced the work of the Solar Bylaw Working Group (SBWG), a group of seven residents created in the spring of 2022 to develop a bylaw to regulate large scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations (LSSPIs). Brestrup is the staff liaison to the working group. She said the town hired the environmental firm GZA to suggest optimal placements of large solar arrays. GZA conducted a survey of Amherst residents and then created a map of possible locations for solar arrays other than on lands owned by the colleges and university, wetlands, conservation areas, preserved agricultural land, and railways. This left one-third of the town available for large solar arrays. The GZA report, including the map, can be viewed here. 

The proposed bylaw is based on models from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, The Department of Energy, the Cape Cod Association, and other towns. Brestrup read the following introduction to the proposed bylaw and stressed that it only deals with LSSPI producing more than 250 kw of energy, not with roof top or canopy solar systems (e.g., the kind that cover some UMass parking lots): 

The purpose of this Article is to promote the health, safety and general public welfare by promoting and regulating the creation of new Large-Scale Ground-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Installations (LSSPI) by providing standards for the placement, design, construction, operation, monitoring, modification, and removal of such installations. The Town of Amherst recognizes the urgent need to convert to non-carbon energy sources, to promote solar energy development and to sequester carbon to slow and to reverse climate change.

The working group is currently discussing use of forests and farmland for solar arrays, in addition to rooftop space and brownfields, to meet the town’s climate goals. (“Brownfields” are lands that are abandoned or underutilized due to pollution from industrial uses.)  The group received a presentation about agrivoltaics on farmland, but has not made any decisions about  large solar arrays on prime farmland.

Brestrup said that different towns have established different limitations on the use of forested lands for solar. Belchertown limits ground-mounted arrays in forests to 10 acres. In Shutesbury, for each acre of forest cut for solar use, four acres need to be preserved. The Amherst working group was proposing that for each acre of forest cut, one acre needs to be preserved, but is still discussing conflicting information about the value of forests for carbon sequestration compared to the value of renewable energy produced by solar arrays. Payment in lieu of taxes is another way of compensating for the loss of forests.

The working group is also discussing setbacks of LSSPIs from roads and abutting properties. The large array on Hampshire College has a 30-foot setback from Bay Road and a 25-foot setback on the side. Some members of the group thought setbacks should be greater if there were nearby homes or if the array was on a scenic road.  A 100-foot setback was proposed for arrays on scenic roads.

Planning Board Members Weigh In On Proposed Bylaw
Planning Board Chair Doug Marshall asked why GZA excluded conservation areas as possible solar sites, and Brestrup said most of the town’s conservation areas are protected from development by state statute. As for use of forests, Bruce Coldham suggested that the bylaw be reviewed in five years, when more data about the relative value of forests vis a vis solar installations are available. Brestrup agreed, and said that if there are too many restrictions on siting solar arrays, the town will not be able to meet its climate goals.

According to scientist Martha Hanner, much of the land owned by the colleges and university is ideal for solar arrays and should be used to meet the town’s energy goals.

Public Comment
Martha Hanner, a scientist and member of the SBWG, noted that the 2050 state roadmap requires 15% of carbon to be sequestered and that the state recently issued a statement that “there should be no decrease in forests or farmland” and that “for any of this land developed, a comparable amount should be placed in permanent reserve.” In addition, she said much of the land owned by the colleges and university is ideal for solar arrays and should be used to meet the town’s energy goals. She added that more cooperation is needed to reduce fossil fuel use.

Future Steps
So far, the town has approved five large solar installations  under a section of the zoning bylaw related to electricity generation because there is no town bylaw specifically addressing  solar arrays. Most of these projects were given special permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals, which will probably be the case in the future, although some might be approved through a site plan review. Developers are required to post a surety with the town to cover the cost of decommissioning the array after its expected 25-year lifespan.

Brestrup said that she and the planning staff are crafting the actual bylaw. When the SBWG has completed its work, the draft bylaw will be submitted to the Town Manager and then to the Town Council. She would like the Planning Board to review the bylaw again before it is presented to the council. It must be approved by two-thirds of the councilors in order to go into effect.