N. Smithfield putting new solar bids on back burner

Town Council sets 60-day moratorium

NORTH SMITHFIELD — In a move acknowledging work the Planning Board has taken on to update the town’s solar energy ordinance, the Town Council on Monday voted unanimously to declare a 60-day moratorium on new applications for ground installations of solar photo voltaic arrays.

Town Council President Paul Vadenais said Wednesday that the panel voted 5-0 to approve the emergency moratorium that will run from Oct. 7 to Dec. 2 of this year.

The emergency moratorium request had been submitted by Councilman Douglas Osier Jr. in light of the planning board’s ongoing review of the town’s solar energy ordinance that had included an Oct. 3 meeting attended by Osier.

The planning board had also requested a moratorium be put into place while the ordinance review continues. The solar project freeze does not affect any of the applications already accepted by town departments such as the proposed 40 megawatt solar farm Green Development is proposing for land off Iron Mine Hill Road.

Green is currently in the process of working out a tax stabilization agreement with the town for its project that remains under review by the Town Council and town administration.

No action was taken on the Green Development tax plan at Monday’s meeting but Vadenais said the matter could come to a vote before the panel possibly in two weeks regardless of the new moratorium.

When the planning board completes work on its recommended changes to the solar ordinance, the town council would then handle the recommendation as it would any change to a town ordinance, Vadenais explained.

“There would be a first reading by the Town Council, a public hearing and then a second reading,” he said.

The process would give local residents the opportunity to comment on any of the proposed changes to the town’s solar rules as they would with any other ordinance, he explained.

The council’s decision to set the

moratorium came despite Vadenais and Town Administrator Gary Ezovski’s view that the current solar provision in local ordinance already provides the community with a proper review process for such projects.

Vadenais said he had offered, as did Ezovski, that setting a moratorium could result in hastily prepared applications for such projects being submitted before the temporary ban could be put into place by the town. The move to enact the moratorium as emergency measure on Monday was intended to avoid such a rush of applications, Vadenais added.

The discussion by the council also raised concerns that some of the provisions of the proposed moratorium, drafted from a similar move in Exeter, did not apply to North Smithfield, according to Vadenais. The unnecessary wording was removed from the final approved draft of the moratorium, he said.

As for when the town council will begin a review of the proposed solar ordinance revisions, Vadenais said that will depend on the planning board.

“They are still working on it,” he said while noting the planners intend to hold another meeting on the changes on Oct. 17.

Osier said on Wednesday that he was pleased that his peers agreed to approve the moratorium and offered that it will give the planning board the time needed to complete the solar ordinance update.

“We may have a really good ordinance but there could be areas that need to be improved,” Osier said. “The moratorium will allow the planning board the break they need to work on the ordinance improvements and make it the strongest ordinance it can be so that town is set up for success going forward,” he said.

Some of the areas being looked at by the planning board include the process for ensuring proper decommissioning of solar arrays once they are no longer used, incentives for selecting land that does not require the removal of forests and natural habitats, and land designations under solar energy uses.

“I think it is important to look at the ordinance and ensure that we are doing things in the best way possible so that they have a positive impact on the town in the long run,” Osier said.

Although the moratorium was set to continue until Dec. 2, Osier said there is no reason that it couldn’t be rescinded earlier once all of the update work on the solar ordinance is completed by the town.