The Yarmouth Planning Board is considering zoning rule changes that would allow for a variety of solar panels in parts of town. Much like the proposed project that prompted the town to examine the allowance of solar, the amendments received mostly negative public feedback at a meeting on June 25.

The proposed ordinance allows solar arrays of limited size as the primary use of a lot, with anything in a residential district restricted to 2 acres or smaller and no array larger than 10 acres permitted anywhere. The changes also would more explicitly outline permissions for solar panels as accessory uses on rooftops and on the ground next to the buildings they are powering. While these types of solar panels are already allowed, and quite popular in Yarmouth, Director of Planning and Development Erin Zwirko said that more clearly outlining this option is intended to increase the adoption of solar by Yarmouth residents.

“So it is an expansion of what has already been allowed, but I think it’s an important, future-focused element that will help us achieve those goals in the Climate Action Plan,” said Zwirko.

One goal of the Yarmouth Climate Action Plan, adopted last year, is to increase the use of renewable energy in the town. Megan Hellstedt, chair of the Yarmouth Climate Action Board, said the amendments would help prepare Yarmouth for the controlled expansion of solar energy.

“We’re very much in favor of this ordinance, to force us to think about where in town it makes sense and also to put some very clear guidelines in place for when solar is proposed,” said Hellstedt.

The impetus for the proposed zoning changes was a Planning Board review of a solar project proposal near the Holy Cross Cemetery in February. The preliminary review of the solar project, called “0 Lafayette Street,” was by the applicant New Leaf Energy, a renewable energy developer based in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The developers estimated that the project would produce 3 million kilowatt hours of clean energy annually, enough to power about 760 Maine homes who could buy the energy at a discount. The potential 8 acres of solar panels would be on land leased from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which also owns the adjacent cemetery, and would require clearance of 8 acres of wooded area.

Upon its initial review, the solar project received widespread criticism from the community, particularly from abutting neighbors. Through written and spoken public comment, residents said that the project would be an “eyesore,” disturb those visiting the cemetery and recreating in the surrounding woods, and produce glare and noise.

“All the neighbors I’ve talked to are pretty much against it,” said Denis Blanchette, who lives near the proposed project and gathered 25 signatures for his neighbors in opposition to the project.

“I don’t think it’s wise use of land,” he said in February.

At the initial review of the project, both the Planning Board and citizens questioned whether the project qualified as a public utility or essential service, qualifiers for the special exemption it would need for that zoning district, which is medium-density residential district, low-density residential district and shoreland overlay zone. If solar did not fall within these categories, the project would not be permitted in that zone.

As solar farms are not explicitly listed in either of those categories, the town sought legal counsel on the matter. In April, Attorney Ben McCall advised that a commercial solar farm at this location would be inappropriate given the current zoning and would leave the town vulnerable to litigation. Additionally, given this lack of clarity of the allowance of solar in Yarmouth overall, McCall recommended that Yarmouth adopt zoning amendments that define commercial solar use, explicitly allow solar projects in specified zones, and adopt performance standards and a review procedure for these projects.

Zwirko and the Yarmouth Sustainability Coordinator Meddy Smith wrote the proposed changes, researching other zoning allowances for solar in similar towns and considering the larger goals of the town guided by the Long Range Comprehensive Plan, the Climate Action Plan, and the Open Space Plan.

“Really what we’re trying to achieve here is allowing this type of use … but really balancing that allowance with understanding the appropriate protections for natural resources and ecological values that exist throughout our community. So trying to find that sweet spot is important,” said Zwirko.

In the proposed zoning amendments, principal use solar energy systems (SES) greater than 10 acres are not allowed anywhere in the town. Arrays between 2 and 10 acres are allowed in commercial and industrial districts. Arrays between 1 and 2 acres in size are allowed in commercial, industrial, medium-density residential and rural residential, and arrays less than 1 acre have the additional allowance of low-density residential. All SES projects require a site plan review and special exception from the Planning Board.

The area of the Holy Cross Cemetery is zoned as medium and low-density residential as well as shoreland overlay zone. As the proposed 0 Lafayette Street project was 8 acres, it would have to be cut down to a quarter of its original size to align with the zoning amendments as they are currently proposed, which require it to be less than 2 acres. Zwirko said that New Leaf Energy expressed that given these size constraints, the project would likely no longer be feasible.

Greg Rosshirt, a project developer from New Leaf Energy, said he found there was only one lot that would qualify for a large-scale solar project in the town, should the proposed amendments go forward.

“Limiting large-scale solar to just commercial and industrial districts is going to be very limiting for renewable energy development in general in Yarmouth,” said Rosshirt during the Planning Board’s public comment.

“To encourage renewable energy in town while limiting to so few parcels. … I think is too limiting. I don’t think there will be any large-scale development in town,” he said.

At the Planning Board workshop, residents largely focused on the 0 Lafayette project, repeating concerns about solar arrays impacting the Holy Cross Cemetery or requiring clearing of woods and shorelines, a valuable ecosystem.

“I would be crushed to see that destroyed for solar panels which could go elsewhere,” said resident Rebecca Robich.

Zwirko said that the amendments are likely to undergo some changes, in accordance with public feedback.