SOUTH WINDSOR — Officials have a pair of separate farmland developments with a common history of proposed solar development.
The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved Tuesday night a 50-unit senior housing development on 16.5 acres of land at 186 Foster St. In a more contentious decision later that night, the commission voted 5-2 to allow for construction of a roughly 1.31-megawatt solar photovoltaic system at 379 Scantic Road, on 6.35 acres of farmland owned by Draghi Farms along the East Windsor border.
In March 2024, C-TEC Solar petitioned the Connecticut Siting Council to allow for construction of a 1.66-megawatt solar facility on the Foster Street lot, notifying officials in South Windsor and neighboring Manchester and drawing concerns from both. In July 2024, South Windsor's legal counsel declined to consent to an extension requested by C-TEC, which would have extended the deadline for the Siting Council to decide by six months.
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Roughly one month later, C-TEC filed a notice to the Siting Council indicating it would withdraw its petition due to an inability to "meet the timeline necessary to proceed in this matter," though the withdrawal left open the potential for the company to file an amended petition.
C-TEC Solar filed with the PZC a special exception application for the Draghi Farms project in November and a housing developer filed a plan for the Forest Street senior housing in January.
PZC alternate Despina Buganski, who voted against the solar application, said Tuesday that although she understands the property owner's desire to find an additional revenue stream to keep Draghi Farms alive, the plan is difficult to agree with.
"I do have to feel for the residents and the people that live around it," Buganski said.
Residents, some who spoke at the meeting Tuesday night, had voiced concerns with the proposal throughout the public hearing process since it began in late January.
Alongside potential noise complaints that prompted C-TEC to modify its plan, neighbors of the project site have said their residential property values could or would go down, the natural environment would be disrupted and the character of the neighborhood would be changed, among other arguments.
A recent fire at a solar facility in East Windsor also prompted additional questions and worries about the safety of the potential Draghi Farms solar facility as well as a modification to the plan, requiring additional access to the site for emergency vehicles.
Some of the PZC members who approved the application said Tuesday night that they felt the applicant had adequately addressed the tangible concerns and that some others were impossible to pin down.
In response to property value concerns, Chairman Stephen Wagner said although residents have cited studies showing a reduction in property values when solar facilities are built, other studies have concluded differently, particularly for facilities under 5 megawatts.
Paul Bernstein said he felt the applicant did a "very good job" of addressing concerns from neighbors, though understands neighbors might not be completely satisfied with the development.
"Zoning is about developing areas," Bernstein said, "and unless there's a compelling reason not to approve an application, I think it's incumbent on us to look upon it favorably."
Kevin Foley, who voted in favor, said he would rather see the project site retained as farmland, though hopes it can be handed down to someone who will farm it following its planned decommissioning 20 years after completion.
Discussion of the Foster Street senior housing development was much more limited Tuesday night, with PZC members briefly commenting on the application's sufficiency, approval conditions and whether the project matched the character of the neighborhood.