Erving Planning Board Extends Solar Permit, Requires Tribal Artifact Inspection

ERVING — March 27, 2020 — Erving Planning Board unanimously extends solar special permit with tribal monitoring condition. The board voted 4-0 at its March 27 virtual hearing to grant a one-year extension of the special permit for a 1.29-megawatt solar project off Poplar Mountain Road, originally approved in April 2018 and lapsed under the town's one-year bylaw before construction could begin. Applicant Mike Zimmer of Soltage presented a site plan effectively unchanged from 2018, with two modifications that reduce overall site impact, including a shift in the electrical interconnection route that eliminates the need to cut large pine trees on an adjacent parcel. The board added a condition, endorsed by all four members present, requiring a tribal monitor to inspect two drainage infiltration basins — each roughly 20 feet by 50 feet — already excavated on site, citing advice from Erving's archaeological preservation officer that the ridgeline is "highly sensitive from an archaeological point of view." Board members noted the one-year permit limit is itself under review, with a bylaw rewrite intended to extend the window to three years for large projects.