TOWN OF CALLICOON — A new local law that aims to regulate the installation and use of renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, and geothermal power generation systems has been under debate in the Town of Callicoon in recent weeks.

The purpose of the law, an amendment to Chapter 203 (Zoning) 3 821, is to “to accomodate renewable energy generating systems that are consistent with the Town of Callicoon Comprehensive Plan while balancing the potential impacts on neighbors and the environment and preserving the rights of property owners to install such energy generating systems.”

However, some residents feel that as currently drafted, it could have an effect that is quite the opposite.

“We were concerned certainly with the [possibility of] utility-sized solar farms, especially as regards to stormwater runoff at large sites,” said Town of Callicoon Supervisor Tom Bose. “We thought, especially given the State's push for renewable energy through Article 10, we need to do something to have some regulations; not so onerous as to prevent farmers or landowners from putting up some solar or wind [generators] if they choose, but still be able to say ‘you do need a permit for this, you need planning board approval for a certain size.'”

At a public hearing on March 26, at the Town Hall in Jeffersonville many concerned residents weighed in on the specifics of the drafted law both in person, via Zoom, and with written comments to the town board.

Bruce Ferguson of Callicoon Center began the public comments by stating that he and others had reviewed the proposed document and found the law, as currently drafted, to be “overly restrictive and [potentially] an impediment to the build out of renewable energy use sources.”

Anne Hart of Youngsville expressed similar overarching concerns, pointing out that the town's 2013 Comprehensive Plan which states a clear intention to promote and protect sustainable energy and development.

“It seems that this draft law doesn't seek to promote and protect but rather, to limit sustainable energy projects in the town and to a certain extent, the rights of property owners to install them, ” stated Hart to the Town Board at the hearing.

Jeffersonville farmer David Tomison voiced more general objections to the intrusion of government on private property owners' rights.

“It's not the role of the town to tell us how large a solar panel can be, where we can get our power from, when it has basically no impact on the town whatsoever. Especially when the people who fuel our community, like the farmers who have spoken already, are completely opposed to this policy,” said Tomison.

Some speakers, such as Steve Vandenscotin, acknowledged the Board for “tackling” such a “difficult and sensitive subject”, and noted that this is “a tough job” before offering his objection to the slope restrictions (20 percent) in solar installations written in the draft.

“We live in a generally hilly and sloped land. Much of it is not ideal for farming or almost any other purpose. These areas, if they are open and sunlit, might seem ideal for solar panels. So unless the angle of the hill is too steep for construction equipment, why restrict the degree of the slope to 20 percent?” he queried.

Concerns by residents who spoke at the public hearing ranged from issues such as setback restrictions, definitions of terms such as “front yard”, and the limits on lot size and percentage of coverage allowed for solar installments on these parcels (set at 20 percent in the draft law).

“This is way out of line with what other towns in Sullivan County and in surrounding counties are doing,” pointed out Bruce Ferguson. “Other towns are permitting 40-90 percent coverage,” he offered.

Eugene Balman, speaking to the interests of small farms, noted that the law as currently written does not accommodate things like dual-use solar, such as agrivoltaics, or something like a sheep grazing operation.

The impracticality of height limitations cited in the draft law for solar installments (10 feet) and wind generators (75 feet) was also a repeated theme. Residents pointed out that many existing solar panels installed decades ago as part of a New York State initiative are already much higher off the ground for practical reasons, such as snow buildup.

When asked, Supervisor Bose stated that existing installations that do not conform to the new regulations will be granted a variance by a grandfather clause in the law.

Tanya Hahn of Youngsville, shared the results of her own research on wind turbine heights to the discussion.

“I know very little about renewables, so I contacted an expert who installs them,” said Hahn. “Basically, any system 25 kilowatts and smaller would need to be above the tree lines, so the proposed 75 feet total height limit is a non-starter for small wind. Most of the other towns allow for a height maximum of 145 feet including the tip of the blades. If you keep your definitions and requirements as they are, you will basically prohibit any wind systems. But it's really not fair to the farmers or to small businesses or owners who want to use wind as their resource at their location.”

Wes Gillingham, a representative of Catskill Mountainkeeper, Wild Roots Farm, the Northeast Organic Farming Association and the Center for Earth Ethics offered his thoughts.

“I understand the incentive,” he commented, “People don't necessarily want to see a 100 acre solar farm in their backyard. But there's a reality in this country, and we are under a mandate by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to transition over, away from fossil fuels.”

Gillingham also pointed out, along with Don Simkin of Youngsville, that local restrictions can be overridden by the state under Article 10, and could create problems at great cost to taxpayers.

He also encouraged the Board to bring the new law in alignment with existing town codes.

“I would like to encourage that the law's description of restrictions and setbacks conform to other structures in the town code”, noted Simkin, “and that the hardware restrictions for solar in particular reflect New York State law, as was mentioned by one of the other speakers. We open ourselves up to expensive lawsuits when the state attempts to override our code,” he concluded.

NYSERDA representative Bill Oberkehr, Project Manager of the Clean Energy Siting team was present at the hearing. Oberkehr said he was impressed by the level of citizen engagement on the issue and offered to support the process by reviewing the proposed legislation as needed.

Supervisor Bose concluded the hearing by thanking those who presented their comments at the hearing. He invited people to submit any further written input if they had not had enough time at the podium.

“I want to thank everyone again for coming out tonight. I can assure you we the board will consider your comments,” he said.

At the Town Board meeting on April 12th in Jeffersonville, Supervisor Bose followed up with positive reflections on the input provided by citizens at the public hearing.

“We really appreciate how many people came out and gave their feedback,” he said. “We are working on this, and there will be a new draft available for public review soon with significant changes that I think people will appreciate.”

The new draft of this proposed law will be available soon on the Town website www.townofcallicoon.org. Written response to the second draft will be accepted at that time.