What: warrant Article 4 for the November 2026 Special Town Meeting, a new zoning bylaw for solar photovoltaic installations by district, size and review type.
Where it stands: the Planning Board voted unanimously on 2026-11-09 to recommend favorable action, with two changes described by planning staff: ground-mounted arrays between 250 kilowatts and 1 megawatt still go to the Planning Board for site plan review, and town-owned arrays under 500 kilowatts are exempt from site plan review.
Next: the changes must be moved from the floor of town meeting; the Planning Board chair is expected to make the motion.
Details
Discussion centered on whether ground-mounted arrays should be allowed in residential and suburban districts. Staff said the draft is at least as restrictive as the current bylaw and that prohibiting arrays in those districts could conflict with the state law on regulating solar energy systems; small arrays are by right, larger ones need a special permit or site plan review, with setbacks and landscape screening for abutters.
One member opposed ground-mounted arrays in residential areas; others noted the property-owner and state-law considerations.
A resident asked that battery energy storage systems not be fast-tracked along with town solar. Staff said the bylaw allows battery storage only as an accessory use, with the larger use treated as primary, and that a separate battery storage bylaw is expected in the spring.