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Planning Board meeting minutes 1/11/22 

Members Present:

Jason Tuning, Board Chair

David Steiginga

Fred Griffen

A motion was made by Jason Tuning, seconded by David Steiginga to call the meeting to order at 6:02pm.

Jason shared that he has been having discussions with people in the community regarding solar.  He believes that it is time to look at the solar laws and guidelines that the town has in place.

Areas of biggest concerns with the Planning Board are:

• Property line minimum distance, possibly increase
• Aesthetics – how they affect property values of the neighbors
• Abandonment – what if they just leave
• Does it benefit the town in any way

David believes we need strong wording for “return property to its original state”, setting a timeline of decommissioning.  There is also concern that unused panels are now currently going to landfills and are not able to be recycled.

The Federal plan states that they want 20% – 30% of power to come from other sources by 2035.

Fred discussed pro and cons of solar energy from his research online.

Cons seem to outweigh the pros.  Cons include sun dependency, cost to dispose, energy storing, efficiency (average efficiency 24.5%)

Solar cannot be put on FDA designated “prime” farmland

David will work on rewriting K. 1. Paragraph and bring proposed changes to next planning meeting.

Carolyn will look into finding a planning binder for Fred Griffen, that Joanne prepared.

There was discussion about the proposed solar that did not happen at Knickerbocker Country Club.

Future meeting of the Planning Board will be held on the second Tuesday of each month.

The next meeting will be February 8, 2022 at 6pm at the Town Hall.

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:11pm was made by Fred Griffen and seconded by David Steiginga.

Respectfully submitted;

Carolyn Nowalk

Planning Board Clerk