Say No to Atlantic Solar! (Near 568 Main Street)
- Target:
- Hopkinton Town Council
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.gofundme.com
Thanks to everyone who signed the petition and supported this campaign.
The town council voted to approve zone change for the Atlantic Solar project at 0 Main Street on March 2, 2020 by a vote of 3-2 (Landolfi, Thompson and Capalbo in favor; Davis and Hirst opposing).
The decision has been appealed to Superior Court on the basis that the town council violated numerous state statutes and local ordinances in issuing its approval. The plaintiffs are confident they will succeed in nullifying the approval.
There several additional proposals to spot zone residential property for industrial solar energy scheduled to be heard by the Town Council, notwithstanding adverse advisory opinions from the planning board issued by unanimous vote. These include:
8/3/2020 - Chase Hill Road (Cherenzia) petition - Town Council Hearings rescheduled to this date.
8/17/2020 - Crandall Lane (Fothergill) petition - Town Council Hearings rescheduled to this date.
Please consider attending these remote hearings, via telephone, to express your opposition to the continued attempts to intrude industrial scale power plants in our residential neighborhoods.
Councilors Landolfi, Thompson and Capalbo have all declined to run for re-election to the town council in 2020. There are a total of eight candidates running for election to the Council, including the two remaining incumbents.
Four of the candidates (Clifford Heil, Robert Marvel, Stephen Moffit and Steven Wiehl) have stated that they were motivated to run by their desire to bring significant reforms to the operation of town government and because of their opposition to spot zoning of residential property for industrial solar development.
Incumbents Sharon Davis and Scott Bill Hirst have also repeatedly stated their opposition to spot zoning of residential property to permit utility scale solar development.
We urge all petitioners to support the legal actions to oppose the spot zoning for the project at Atlantic Solar / 0 Main Street , and in other areas, most notably at Skunk Hill Road. These legal challenges are expensive but are vitally important to preserving the character of our community.
We also urge everyone to vote in 2020 for town council candidates who oppose spot zoning and who are committed to implementing substantive reforms to heal our community. They will need your support now, and in the future to bring about constructive changes.
Thank you for your past and continued support.
Keep Hopkinton Country!
Eric Bibler
This is a petition by residents of Hopkinton, RI to the members of the Hopkinton Town Council asking the Council NOT to enact new legislation to enable the installation of a large commercial solar array in a residential area.
The applicant, Atlantic Solar, LLC, has requested that the Hopkinton Town Council pass two related ordinances to amend the town's Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map to rezone 30 acres of property from RFR-80 rural residential use to "commercial special - solar only" and to allow the applicant to install and operate a commercial solar energy power plant covering 10 acres of land.
The Town Council is under no obligation to provide such legislation to the applicant and can simply refuse to do so.
The subject property is situated in a rural, residential zone near 568 Main Street (Route 3), surrounded by other residential property, where the commercial manufacture of electricity is prohibited.
The Hopkinton Planning Board has reviewed the project and issued an adverse Advisory Opinion on October 9, 2018, recommending that the Town Council DENY the applicant's request on the basis that the proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map are not consistent the goals and objectives of the Plan.
Please indicate on the petition whether you are an abutter, a nearby neighbor (3000 foot radius) or a Hopkinton resident.
See the list of abutters and neighbors, and other information on the Atlantic Solar project, here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f6e78eb7yjv6v7h/AADiA23_LFs-CFPjQsyQvYR6a?dl=0
We also urge Hopkinton residents to take a moment to sign our petition against the Skunk Hill Solar project - which is many times the size of the Atlantic Solar project - here:
Say No to Skunk Hill Solar! Petition
In addition to the petitions against these specific projects, we also urge Hopkinton residents to sign our petition opposing the threat of solar sprawl and the practice of "spot zoning" to accommodate the efforts of solar developers to industrialize rural, residential neighborhoods in Hopkinton.
Here is the petition to "Keep Hopkinton Country!"
Keep Hopkinton Country! Say No to Spot Zoning and Industrial Solar Sprawl Petition
Here is a link to our crowd funding campaign to pay legal expenses:
https://www.gofundme.com/KeepHopkintonCountry
PETITION TO THE HOPKINTON TOWN COUNCIL
To DENY the Request by ATLANTIC SOLAR, LLC
For Enactment of Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Map Amendments
At Main Street - AP 7 Lot 32; AP 10 Lot 87; & AP 11 Lot 35
Atlantic Control Systems Inc. (c/o James R. Grundy), Applicant
The undersigned residents of Hopkinton, including legal abutters who own property within 200 feet of the above referenced property and nearby neighbors within a radius of 3000 feet, respectfully request that the Hopkinton Town Council DENY its approval for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and a Zoning Map Amendment to allow the installation of an industrial solar power plant in a rural, residential RFR-80 zone, where the commercial manufacture of electricity is strictly prohibited.
We CONCUR with the determination of the Hopkinton Planning Board, expressed in its adverse Advisory Opinion to the Town Council dated October 9, 2018, that the applicant’s proposal is not consistent with the following elements of the town’s Comprehensive Plan:
a. Land Use Goal #1 (LU-1), to protect the quality of life and rural character of Hopkinton;
b. Land Use Goal #4 (LU-4), to preserve existing working farms, wildlife, and wildlife habitat; and
c. Housing Goal #1 (H-1), Hopkinton will be characterized by safe, secure, and attractive residential neighborhoods.
We SUPPORT the efforts of the Hopkinton Planning Board to preserve the rural character of the Town of Hopkinton; to faithfully adhere to the stated goals of the town's Comprehensive Plan; and to defend the integrity of the established planning and zoning process for our town.
The Say No to Atlantic Solar! (Near 568 Main Street) petition to Hopkinton Town Council was written by Hopkinton Citizens for Responsible Planning and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.