For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
FOREST LAND
A dense growth of trees and shrubs covering an area of one
acre or more.
GROUND-MOUNTED SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM
A solar electric system that is affixed to the ground (not
roof-mounted) and all appurtenant fencing, accessways, drainage infrastructure,
electronics, shade management areas and all required buffer areas
for installation and operation of such a system.
A.
SMALL-SCALE GROUND-MOUNTED SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM INSTALLATIONInstallation of a ground-mounted solar electric system which occupies less than one acre of upland and contains solar modules of 500 square feet or less (calculation shall be based on combined square footage of all ground-mounted modules located on contiguous land).
B.
MEDIUM-SCALE GROUND-MOUNTED SOLAR ELECTRIC INSTALLATIONInstallation of a ground-mounted solar electric system which occupies less than one acre of upland and contains solar modules of greater than 500 square feet but less than 43,560 square feet (calculation is based on combined square footage of all ground-mounted modules located on contiguous land).
C.
LARGE-SCALE GROUND-MOUNTED SOLAR ELECTRIC INSTALLATIONInstallation of a ground-mounted solar electric system which occupies one acre or greater of upland and contains solar modules of 43,560 square feet or greater (calculation is based on combined square footage of all ground-mounted modules located on a contiguous land).
SOLAR ENERGY
Radiant energy received from the sun that is collected in
the form of heat or light by a solar collector.
SOLAR PARKING CANOPY
An elevated solar electric system that hosts solar panels
installed over parking lots or other hardscaped areas and which is
accessory to a use or uses located on the same lot as the canopy.
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY
An active solar energy collection system that converts solar
energy directly into electricity whose primary purpose is to harvest
energy by transferring solar emergency into another form of energy
or transferring heat from a collector to another medium using mechanical,
electrical, or chemical means.
SOLAR ROOF-MOUNTED INSTALLATION
A solar electric system consisting of solar panels installed
on the roof of a dwelling or other building as an accessory portion
of the dwelling or other building and all related equipment which
is necessary for and incidental to the system.
The following requirements shall apply to solar electric installations:
A. Compliance with laws, ordinances, and regulations. All solar electric
installations shall be constructed and operated in compliance with
all local, state, and federal requirements, including but not limited
to all applicable safety, construction, electrical, and communications
requirements. All buildings and fixtures forming part of a solar electric
installation shall be constructed in accordance with the current Massachusetts
State Building Code.
B. Building permit and building inspection. All solar electric installations
shall obtain all necessary construction permits and inspections prior
to and during construction, installation, modification, or removal.
C. Site plan review.
(1)
A ground-mounted solar installation shall obtain site plan review approval under §
201-3.4 prior to construction, installation, modification or removal as provided in this article.
(2)
The Board of Appeals may waive documentary requirements as it
deems appropriate.
(3)
Required documents. Pursuant to the site plan review process,
the project proponent shall provide the following documents:
(a)
A site plan showing:
[1] Existing conditions for the project site, including:
[b] Physical features, including elevations, using
ten-foot contours;
[c] Location of Wetlands and Priority Habitat Areas
as defined by the Natural Heritage & Engaged Species Program (NHESP);
[f] Buildings and structures on the site;
[g] Buildings and structures within 200 feet of the
site (with setback distances shown);
[j] Locations of all known, mapped or suspected Native
American archaeological sites or sites of Native American ceremonial
activity. Identification of such sites shall be based on responses,
if any, to written inquiries with a requirement to respond within
35 days, to the following parties: all federally or state-recognized
Tribal Historic Preservation Officers with any cultural or land affiliation
to the Norwell area; the Massachusetts State Historical Preservation
Officer; tribes or associations of tribes not recognized by the federal
or state government with any cultural or land affiliation to the Norwell
area; and the Norwell Historical Commission. Such inquiries shall
serve as a notice to the aforesaid parties and shall contain a plan
of the project, specific identification of the location of the project,
and a statement that an application for permitting for the project
is forthcoming. Accompanying the site plan shall be a report documenting
such inquiries, the responses from the parties, a description of the
location and characteristics, including photographs, of any Native
American sites and the outcomes of any additional inquiries made based
on information obtained from recommendations made by the aforesaid
parties. A failure of parties to respond within 35 days shall allow
the applicant to submit the site plans.
[2] Proposed changes, including grading, vegetation
clearing, planting, exterior lighting, fencing, screening vegetation,
solar arrays and related equipment, cabinets wiring and structures
and accessway(s);
[3] Blueprints. Blueprints or drawings of the solar
electric installation signed by a registered professional engineer
licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts showing
the proposed layout of the system and any potential shading from nearby
structures.
[4] Electrical line diagram detailing the solar electric
installation, associated components, and electrical interconnection
methods, with all National Electrical Code compliant disconnects and
overcurrent devices.
[5] Documentation of the major system components to
be used, including the PV panels, mounting system, and inverter.
[6] Name, address, and contact information for proposed
solar installation system installer.
[7] Name, address, phone number and signature of the
project proponent, as well as all coproponents or property owners,
if any.
[8] The name, contact information and signature of
any agents representing the project proponent.
[9] A list of any listed hazardous or known carcinogenic
materials proposed to be located on the site in excess of household
quantities and a plan to prevent their release to the environment
as appropriate.
[10] A certificate for the solar project from the UMass
Clean Energy Extension Pollinator-Friendly Certification Program (or
equivalent program) at a minimum Silver Certification Level or an
equivalent certification as determined by the Site Plan Approval Authority.
This certification shall be maintained so long as the solar project
installation elements are in place.
(b)
Documentation of actual or prospective access and control of
the project site (deeds, purchase and sale agreements, long-term ground
leases, etc.).
(c)
An operation and maintenance plan (see also Subsection
D). The O&M Plan shall include measures for maintaining safe access to the installation, stormwater management (consistent with all Department of Environmental Projection Stormwater Standards and with all Town stormwater bylaws, regulations, and rules, as well as general procedures for operational maintenance of the installation).
(d)
Proof of liability insurance; Evidence of satisfactory liability
insurance shall be provided to the Building Official and the Board
of Appeals before any building permit issues or any construction begins
and annual evidence of such liability insurance shall be provided
as a condition of any permit granted to allow the installation and
it shall continue in force and effect until the installation has been
satisfactorily decommissioned, removed and the site restored as required.
(e)
Description of financial surety that satisfies §
201-22.8; and the surety shall be in a form and in an amount that are acceptable to the Board of Appeals, at the Board's sole discretion, and with no letters of credit allowed and with no surety bond to be accepted that has a termination date and the amount of the surety to be up to 125% of the estimated cost to the Town to effect removal of the installation and restoration of the site. The proponent shall provide the Board with an estimate of the costs associated with removal and restoration as prepared by appropriate consultants and then peer reviewed for the Board at the proponent's expense. The amount of the surety shall include increased removal and restoration costs due to anticipated inflation. And, if inflationary costs rise unexpectedly, the Board may require the proponent to post additional surety in as a condition of the permit that allows the installation.
(f)
Any other information requested by the Planning Board and/or
Board of Appeals during the review process.
D. Operation and maintenance plan. All solar electric installation proponent
shall submit a plan for the operation and maintenance of the solar
installation, which shall include measures for maintaining safe access
to the installation, stormwater controls, as well as general procedures
for operational maintenance of the installation.
E. Utility notification. All solar electric system installation proponents
shall provide evidence that the utility company that operates the
electrical grid where the installation is to be located has been informed
of the solar electric installation owner's or operator's
intention to install an interconnected customer-owned generator. No
construction of a ground-mounted solar electric installation shall
begin, and no building permit shall issue until evidence is provided
to the Building Official and the Board of Appeals that the utility
company that operates the electrical grid where the installation is
to be located has approved the connection of the proposed generator
into the power grid. Off-grid systems shall be exempt from this requirement.
F. Payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT). All ground-mounted solar photovoltaic
installation proponents may execute a PILOT agreement with the Select
Board prior to construction of the installation.
G. Mitigation for loss of forest habitat within the installation.
(1)
Forest disturbance limit. A ground-mounted solar electric installation
shall not disturb in excess of 30 total acres of forest habitat.
(2)
Mitigation for loss of forest habitat within the installation.
If forestland is proposed to be converted to a ground-mounted solar
electric installation, the plans shall provide for mitigation measures
that include the following:
(a)
The solar field shall be built around and conform with the natural
contours of the land;
(b)
Native vegetation under the arrays shall be retained;
(c)
Areas with sensitive or endangered plants shall be avoided;
(d)
A wildflower meadow habitat shall be created within and immediately
around the solar electric system. This habitat shall contain a wide
variety of plants that bloom from early spring into late fall and
that are planted in clumps rather than single plants (to help pollinators
find them) and that are native plants that are adapted to local climate,
soil and native pollinators;
(e)
At least 50% of the array footprint and perimeter shall be planted
with the wildflower meadow plants;
(f)
Plans for pollinator-friendly vegetation establishment and maintenance
shall be designed by a professional biologist or ecologist with relevant
experience and expertise in pollinator habitat creation, grassland
habitat restoration and/or knowledge of New England plant communities;
(g)
A wildflower meadow shall not be mowed more than one time per
year, preferably in September to ensure no animals or creatures are
using it as habitat.
(3)
Mitigation for disruption of trail networks. If existing trail
networks, old roads, wood roads or cart paths are disrupted by the
location of a ground-mounted solar electric installation, the project
and plans shall provide for suitable new, alternative trail alignments
- but with no new rights of public access to be required.
(4)
All plans and maps shall be prepared, stamped, and signed by
a professional civil engineer, licensed to practice in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts and all survey information shall be prepared, stamped
and signed by a professional surveyor licensed to practice in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(5)
Vehicular access, unless temporary, to a medium-scale ground-mounted
and/or a large-scale solar electric ground-mounted installation shall
be from a paved way or ways.
(6)
A large-scale ground-mounted solar electric installation in
a residential district shall have the minimum required frontage on
a way that is required in the underlying residential district.
(7)
A special permit required for a solar electric installation
may be conditioned to effectuate and made enforceable the requirements
of this article.
The following dimensional requirements for solar electric installations
and their accessory structures and elements shall supersede the dimensional
requirements in the Zoning Bylaw. Requirements not superseded in this
section still apply.
A. Setbacks. There shall be no construction or installation of any medium-
or large-scale ground-mounted solar electric system within the following
required property boundary setbacks:
|
Residence A and B
|
Business B1
|
Business C1
|
---|
Front yard
|
500 feet
|
100 feet
|
100 feet
|
Side yard
|
200 feet
|
100 feet
|
50 feet
|
Rear yard
|
200 feet
|
100 feet
|
50 feet
|
Maximum height of solar device
|
15 feet
|
25 feet
|
25 feet
|
1
|
Where a property within a Business District B or C abuts a residential
property, a minimum setback of the installation of 500 feet from the
residential property line shall be required.
|
B. Vegetation buffers and screening.
(1)
Clearing of natural vegetation shall be limited to what is necessary
for the proper construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility.
Use of previously disturbed land is encouraged in siting of all such
installations.
(2)
In residential districts, land within the required setback areas
shall not be disturbed other than for what is strictly necessary to
access the facility and for any installed vegetation or fencing for
additional screening purposes.
(3)
All installations shall be screened from all public and private
ways and any surrounding residence(s) with existing natural vegetation,
or, in the case where such natural vegetation is not fully satisfactory
for screening the installation, a dense vegetated buffer shall be
installed and maintained together with any fencing that is determined
to be necessary by the Zoning Board of Appeals. At a minimum, the
screening shall be same height as the height of the highest device,
at the time of installation.
C. Height.
(1)
No ground-mounted solar device or accessory structure shall
exceed 15 feet in height as measured from the ground directly to the
highest point of the installation.
(2)
Existing grade shall not be increased anywhere on the site by
more than five feet through excavation or with fill materials, except
to allow additional berms in the discretion of the Zoning Board of
Appeals for the purpose of providing additional screening.
(3)
The Zoning Board of Appeals may waive the foregoing height and
grade requirements in a nonresidential district if the applicant demonstrates
a necessity to exceed 15 feet in height or to change the existing
grade, but under no circumstances shall heights exceed 25 feet or
changes in grade exceed 10 feet or, when combined, exceed a total
of 25 feet.
(4)
All wiring to serve a solar electric installation located in
a residential district (other than a roof-mounted installation) shall
be underground on the property where the installation is located.
D. Exemptions. As-of-right solar electric installations shall not be subject to §
201-9.2, Lot area, §
201-9.5, Lot shape, and §
201-9.3, Lot frontage and width bylaw requirements.
E. Minimum area required in residential districts. Any and all ground-mounted
solar electric installations in any residential district shall be
subject to the following additional requirements in order to provide
for appropriate screening so as to promote solar energy but also to
protect property values of abutters and to protect abutters from views
of the installations and to protect views of the installations from
public and private ways:
(1)
Small ground-mounted installations. No portion of any installation
may be sited in a wetland area. Wiring and cables shall not be connected
to utility poles and all wiring or cables shall be located underground.
(2)
Medium ground-mounted installations. No portion of such an installation
may be sited in a wetland area. Wiring and cables shall not be connected
to utility poles and all wiring or cables shall be located underground.
(3)
Large ground-mounted installations. No portion of such an installation
may be sited in a wetland area. Wiring and cables shall not be connected
to utility poles and all wiring or cables shall be located underground.
All changes or modifications to a ground-mounted solar electric
system installation made after issuance of the required Board of Appeals
and building permit issuance shall require approval by the Board of
Appeals.