Letter: Solar farm plan violates Tiverton town plan in many ways

Posted 10/17/18

To the editor:

According to last week’s Sakonnet Times article, the utility-scale solar facility proposal for Wingover Farm is the first to get to the master plan stage at the Tiverton Planning …

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Letter: Solar farm plan violates Tiverton town plan in many ways

Posted

To the editor:

According to last week’s Sakonnet Times article, the utility-scale solar facility proposal for Wingover Farm is the first to get to the master plan stage at the Tiverton Planning Board.  While the planning board is addressing concerns about responsible solar siting, they do not want to protect Wingover Farm with upcoming amendments or moratoriums.

The Tiverton Solar Ordinance was written by a solar company with a stake in its outcome. If rezoning for the benefit one party to the detriment of another isn’t enough to raise concern, let’s revisit the Tiverton Comprehensive Plan. 
“Goal: Preserve and protect the natural features and unique cultural qualities that contribute to the special character, identity, heritage and environmental quality of Tiverton. “  Open space: “Encourage and assist owners of farmland in acquiring funding to preserve land that would remain in agricultural use, to include the acquisition of agricultural easements,and in promoting use of the Farm, Forest and Open Space Program that provides tax relief to landowners who wish to keep their open land undeveloped.“

How is wiping out a historic farmhouse, prime farmland and special forest for a massive solar plant consistent with the comprehensive plan? The solar ordinance doesn’t even promote this sort of siting: “The applicant shall utilize existing cleared land or that which minimizes the impact on forest and habitat” … “The facility shall be designed to be compatible with continued agricultural use of the land whenever possible”.

Unlike a farms that use solar to supplement their income while continuing to be farmers, this facility will not combine agriculture in its design.

The proposal for a utility-grade solar power plant on Wingover Farm violates so many of the town's visions and there is no plan in place for the many problems that will result from this development. I still find it hard to believe that this proposal was ever taken seriously.

The community has put their trust in the fact that their comprehensive plan would serve as a moral compass for future plans, and protect its residents and the town’s ecosystem and rural character.  At this time we have a Solar Ordinance that can not be reconciled with the Tiverton Comprehensive Plan. Proposals like the solar power plant for Wingover Farm have brought this to light. This is a taking from the community,

Pristine, 18th century farms with deep history, prime farmland, old growth forests and waterways are the sheer definition of the goals described in Tiverton’s Comprehensive Plan. These goals and policies should have been well protected by any zoning or planning ordinances implemented by town officials.

Wingover Farm may be the oldest farm in Tiverton with its original farmhouse. If the Wingover proposal solar goes through, it will be a black eye for the Town of Tiverton. What else are we in for if this can happen to a farm like Wingover Farm?  You can learn more about what will be lost on Wingover Farm's website. www.wingoverfarm.com

Julie Munafo

Jamestown

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