EASTHAMPTON — Development of a $5 million to $6 million solar array on Park Street is expected to begin this spring, pending finalization of an easement agreement through the property for future mixed-use trails.
The project, approved last fall by the Planning Board, calls for a 3.1-megawatt solar array on a vacant, 36.72-acre parcel of land at 232 Park St. There will be two separate solar arrays on approximately 9.5 acres of the land and construction is scheduled to take over seven months to complete, beginning in May or June, according to Michael Zimmer, the New England regional director for Soltage, a New Jersey solar company.
“It can be challenging to find a good place” for a large-scale solar project, Zimmer said on Friday.
After conducting a study throughout the state, Soltage officials were drawn to the Park Street parcel because it is close to an electrical grid. Additionally, Zimmer said the city’s existing bylaws “made it an attractive site for a project like this.”
During the approval process, the Pascommuck Conservation Trust identified that a portion of the parcel could be a potential access point for a future trail that would connect to Plain Street and White Brook Middle School.
The conservation trust told the board of a decadelong goal to link Plain Street to the middle school and Nonotuck Park by a trail system, according to Planning Board meeting minutes.
The landowner, Bernard Gawle of Easthampton, and Soltage agreed to provide a roughly 10-foot-wide easement that runs through the nearly 600-foot length of the property from north to south.
City officials and the property owner must finalize the agreement prior to a building permit being issued, according to the conditions set by the Planning Board.
“We appreciate the willingness of the property owners to work with the city and support the long-term vision of creating public access to an interconnected system of open space,” City Planner Jeffrey Bagg said.
The council has sent the easement agreement to the Property Subcommittee for review.
The solar company “made a minor adjustment to the solar array, and that was significant,” in order for the easement to be possible, according to Bagg.
The Planning Department and the Conway School of Landscape Design in Northampton are working to envision a multi-use trail network to connect schools, Nonotuck Park, and the downtown area to residential neighborhoods and the Manhan Rail Trail.
A team of graduate students from Conway is putting together a report that will inventory the current connection points to the rail trail and gather input from public meetings to develop the potential trail system.
“There is a lot of work to be done,” Bagg said. “But the city and public have a right to pass and repass over this stretch and continue on.”
The interior of the property where the solar arrays are to be built is bordered by land owned by Easthampton to the north and east. To the south, it is partially bordered by land owned by the city and a single-family property.
Over the course of seven public hearings for Soltage’s application, many of the discussions focused on the area along the southern property line abutting the residences on Holly Circle. Members of the Planning Board visited the site of the project with the applicant and visibility from Holly Circle was raised as a concern.
To mitigate the possibility of seeing solar panels from Holly Circle, Soltage agreed to “limited clearing within the 50-foot buffer” to the property line and planting additional screening to shield the view of the solar arrays and construction activity, according to the special permit decision.
The closest location of any of the solar inverters is 250 feet from Holly Circle, and the closest transformer to a residence is approximately 430 feet from Holly Circle.
The property extends approximately 3,400 feet east from Park Street and the solar panels will not be visible from Park Street.
“The process of working with the Planning Board was excellent,” Zimmer said. “The city was very reasonable with us and also stood very firmly to make sure the voice of all neighbors and citizens were heard and addressed.”