A proposed solar farm drew limited – but pointed – criticism in a public hearing by the Marlborough Planning Board, held at Town Hall Monday night, August 19.

 

The solar array would occupy an 80-acre site along Bingham Road, approximately one mile west of Lattintown Road. The proposal calls for a five-megawatt solar array, which would occupy less than one-fourth of the site. Most of the acreage currently consists of apple orchards, which would continue to surround much of the proposed installation. The property is owned by Joel Truncali and would be developed by a firm known as ELP Marlborough Solar LLC.

 

Pat Hines, the town’s consulting engineer, outlined a variety of requested changes from public entities. Among these, the local fire department for that part of town requested the installation of a dry hydrant on the site. Dry Hydrants draw water from nearby ponds or lakes to fight fires, as opposed to being connected to the municipal water supply. 

 

Hines noted that the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) also raised concerns about runoff from the site, which is steep, and would require the use of an erosion-control known as a level spreader to mitigate outflow. Hines noted that the DEC has recently adopted guidelines promulgated by the state of Maryland for such sites, which are somewhat more stringent than New York’s.

 

Ryan Loucks, senior engineer with Hudson-based Crawford & Associates, noted that if approved, building the system would take place in phases. “No more than five acres would be disturbed at a time,” Loucks said. 

 

Battery storage was one element of the project that Planning Board members were uncertain about. When the project was first presented to the Board in March, the proposal did not contain any references to storage technologies – which have elicited controversy in other New York towns due to their fire potential. “If you are going to do storage, I’d highly recommend that you sit down with our fire chief,” noted Planning Board member Bob Troncillito, who is also a past fire chief for the Marlboro Fire Department.

 

John Vanden Dooren lives at 331 Bingham Road, and his property is immediately adjacent to the first solar array proposed to be built. Two rows of orchard trees would remain as a buffer between his property line and that installation. The developer would also plant an assortment of evergreens. 

 

“I believe the value of my house will drop,” said Vanden Dooren. He and Hines asked the developers to provide a better visual display of what the proposed landscaping would look like.

 

His wife, Caitlin Vanden Dooren, also questioned where any storage batteries would be placed and what would happen in a fire. “Our biggest concern is our property,” she said. “We have to live with it.”

 

“This is no small-scale project: each section is the size of a football field,” noted Andrew Bona of 330 Bingham Road. He noted he had purchased his house in large part because of its isolated location amid orchards, and described the project as an eyesore.

 

“Our town logo is an apple, not a solar panel,” Bona said. 

Bona also read a statement from neighbors Alberto and Susan Alvarez, who were on vacation and could not attend the hearing. With the local foliage consisting mainly of deciduous fruit trees, the Alvarezes noted that it would be impossible to screen views of the solar farm from their house. 

 

“This would change one of the things we love most about living in Marlboro,” they wrote. They also raised concerns about worsening floods from the large pond on the site, and the impact of glare from the panels on the safety of people who walk, run, or bike nearby.

 

In addition to the solar-farm hearing, the Board took a detailed look at the proposed Orchards on Hudson condo complex adjacent to the intersection of Route 9W and Dock Road. The project would consist of 103 residential units, a pool, fitness center, and clubhouse. The project was first unveiled in 2023, and its developers last outlined it for the Board on March 4. 

 

One key recent change: the entrance to the complex would no longer be via Dock Road. Instead, it would be accessed via a gated entry on the east side of 9W itself. Board member James Garofalo questioned this new feature. 

 

“Where would the call box be?” he asked, noting that it would need to be set sufficiently back from the intersection with Route 9W to enable large trucks – such as the ones used by moving companies – to idle there while waiting for the gate to go up.

 

“I’m very disappointed that my request for sidewalks [in the complex] was not taken into account,” Board member Cindy Lanzetta noted. She pointed out that the project was originally pitched as a walkable community – instead, she foresees residents needing to use their cars to get to places both inside and outside the complex.

 

Among other key measures, the Planning Board okayed a proposal for a lot-line revision and two-lot subdivision on Dragotta Road in Marlboro. It also scheduled public hearings for a four-lot subdivision at 397-407 Willow Tree Lane, and a two-lot subdivision at 37-43 Bailey Gap Road. Those two hearings will take place on Monday, September 16.

 

The Planning Board heard an initial presentation for a three-lot subdivision on Burma Road in Marlboro. It conducted ongoing reviews of a proposed seven-lot subdivision at 1559 Route 9W West in Marlboro and the proposal to develop a resort property at 626 Lattintown Road.