LEVERETT — Solar power bylaws, potential elementary school regionalization and transfer station policies will be brought to a vote at the annual Town Meeting on Saturday.
The meeting beginning at 9 a.m. at the Leverett Elementary School will set the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and bring 35 articles to a vote, five of which were put on the warrant by petition.
The issues include whether to approve or disapprove of involvement by Berkshire Gas with the discontinued Kinder-Morgan pipeline, authorize an account to support the Leverett transfer station, and allocate $24,000 to repair Jackson Hill Cemetery. The pipeline project has been shelved indefinitely but too close to the date of the town meeting to remove it from the warrant.
Article 15 seeks changes to the Leverett zoning bylaws regarding solar electricity farms. The new Section 4970 would require a 100-foot setback on the perimeter around medium-sized plots of solar panels. A ground-mounted solar energy system determined to be medium in size covers 1,750 to 40,000 square feet, according to the proposed bylaw.
A solar-energy system less than 1,750 square feet would be considered small, while a solar installation ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 square feet would be considered large.
If approved, the changes would replace the existing Section 4970 which guides solar electric zoning.
Resident Barry Oberpriller, 46, said the new bylaws would make his proposed solar farm “basically impossible” to install. Oberpriller operates what he calls a “zero-energy home,” using solar power, and hopes to bring the energy source to the town.
Oberpriller, who has lived in Leverett for 25 years, owns a four-acre plot near his home on North Leverett Road he hopes to turn into a solar farm. He requested a special permit from the town to authorize the project and was denied because he did not meet zoning requirements.
He plans to attend the meeting Saturday and request that the 100-foot setback be reduced to 25 feet, calling the mandate “unreasonable.”
The proposed solar farm would generate 500 kilowatts and power roughly 100 homes, according to Oberpriller. It is the only place in Leverett where a solar farm would be feasible, Oberpriller believes, because his land is in an area with three-phase utility lines that could tie the panels into the Eversource grid.
Planning Board member Richard P. Nathhorst said he “absolutely” supports Oberpriller, and will vote to approve the new Section 4970 bylaw with amendments.
“We’ve been working on this for a year and a half now,” Nathhorst said. “It is not totally in my satisfaction, but it is significantly better than what we have now. I will recommend to approve it with amendments.”
He suggested the town eliminate the 100-foot setback for medium-sized solar installations and take cues from less-restrictive existing state regulations.
“The 100-foot setback is a poison pill to prevent the construction of a medium system,” said Nathhorst. “I am pushing for the setback to be the same in any given zone … That way, the town is not treating solar panels any differently and there is a fair chance they will be constructed in town.”
Nathhorst said he disagrees with the proposed 9-foot height limit for ground-installed solar panels, saying the equipment “should be able to be set at a height most effective to generate solar power.”
But the town is divided, according to Planning Board Chairman Jeff McQueen.
He said the proposed bylaw is “not restrictive” and setbacks and height limits exist to protect the rights of homeowners in Leverett. “It is important to find a balance between the need for solar energy and the protection of individual property rights,” he added.
According to McQueen, the town bylaws are stricter than the state’s, but that does not mean they are restrictive. Provisions are included so residents can submit a “reasonable request” to reduce the 100-foot setback which the board will review. Solar panels installed on municipal land are subject to a different set of bylaws, so the bylaw in dispute pertains to homeowners specifically.
“The problems perceived with zoning are really not problems,” said McQueen, who will leave the board Saturday following the meeting because he is moving to neighboring Amherst.
Nathhorst called the debate a social justice issue, saying current energy sources used in Leverett including coal, fossil fuel, and nuclear energy harm the environment and those living in communities near power plants.
He said he wants to “let other people have a break from pollution” by allowing Leverett residents to provide power for themselves and the town and “make a little extra income doing it.”
From there, Nathhorst acknowledged the town will vote whether to approve $5,000 to support the Town of Montague in its role as a full intervenor in the Department of Public Utilities process that would have decided the ability of Berkshire Gas to buy gas from the proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
Montague pipeline liaison Ariel Elan said the halt in proceeding is an “active suspension” because Berkshire Gas will report to the Department of Public Utilities on May 21.
Elan plans to attend the Leverett Town Meeting accompanied by a selectman from Montague.
A change in regional school funding will be brought to a vote Saturday in response to pressure from neighboring Shutesbury. Leverett will vote on Article 5 to amend its Amherst-Pelham Regional School District agreement to mitigate the financial impact of a population increase in Shutesbury, according to Select Board member Julie Shively.
All four towns in the district – Leverett, Amherst, Pelham and Shutesbury – must vote annually to determine funding for regional schools because they do not follow the state statutory method. The towns opt to pay the same per student rather than determine their input by income and property ownership, which is the default state method.
Shively said the state’s perception of Leverett is “skewed.” Because of the town’s small size, one wealthy resident makes the community seem wealthier than it is. In turn, Leverett would pay more than neighboring communities if using the state method, although their financial makeup is similar, Shively explained.
Shutesbury is pushing to incorporate income and property ownership in the school funding agreement after experiencing a population increase and paying more than it previously did. If the article passes a vote, 90 percent of the funding will be based on the per-pupil method while 10 percent will depend on income and property value.
Following the school funding decision, the town will vote on Article 6, which supports using the equal-per-pupil-cost method in regional schools.
Shively said the second article is not binding, but it will serve as a way for Leverett to make its voice heard in the debate over how to fund regional schools.
“It doesn’t hold any water. It’s to make the point,” Shively said.
She added that Pelham and Leverett have “taken hits” when population increased, but the towns did not propose a change in funding to accommodate the higher cost that followed.
School regionalization
The town also will vote Saturday on whether to establish an exploratory committee to investigate a potential elementary school regionalization project.
According to Nathhorst, Leverett Elementary School can accommodate around 250 students, but it now has about 125, including those enrolled through school choice. The town is seeking to regionalize the elementary school and bring in students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade from neighboring towns Amherst, Pelham and Shutesbury rather than close the school.
The measure would establish a committee to explore regionalization options. Nathhorst said much of the decision to regionalize rests with Shutesbury.
Five articles pertain to the Leverett transfer station, four of which were brought by petition. The town will vote on Article 28, which could allocate funding for the transfer station not exceeding $3,000 in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Articles brought by petition are asking the town to keep the station open on both weekend days and change hiring practices to make it easier to staff. Article 33 proposes the town terminate a contract with the Franklin County Solid Waste District and reinstate on-site services at the Leverett transfer station, excluding hazardous waste which would be brought to Amherst.
Campaign finance reform
The town also will vote on a petition article urging campaign finance reform. Article 31 asks the U.S. Congress to pass an amendment to the constitution overturning Citizens United and seeking ratification by the states.
The petition also asks lawmakers to support legislation which reduces the impact of private money in national and local elections.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify information about a vote on money supporting Montague’s status as an intervenor in DPU proceedings regarding the gas pipeline project.