To the Editor:

I have several concerns about the Guilderland Planning Board’s review process of a proposal for the placement of a five-megawatt solar array on a 61-acre field that is adjacent to the Orchard Creek Golf Course on Dunnsville Road, Route 356.

I learned recently that the Guilderland Planning Board reviewed this proposal twice — once in June and again in September. The project was also referred to the Albany County Planning Board in June for its comment and review. It still has not been officially sent to the village of Altamont.

It doesn't make sense that this proposal will not be referred to Altamont until the very end of the planning process, as Guilderland’s town planner, Kenneth Kovalchik, confirmed last week when asked by the Enterprise reporter, noting that the town won’t make the referral until the applicant has updated the plans to incorporate requests made by the planning board on Sept. 11.

It would seem to me that the referral that the town made to the Albany County Planning Board in June was what the village should have received as it always has since the Guilderland law requiring such a referral was put in place in 2005.

During the time I was mayor of the village, the Altamont Referral Committee received 26 proposed projects for review. In all cases, the referrals were sent to the Committee at the beginning of the process by Guilderland planning or zoning staff. The town referred the projects to the Albany County Planning Board at the same time.

One of the key purposes of the 2005 law encourages local decision-makers to consider the inter-community impacts of local land-use changes, and adds a cooperative perspective to local land-use decisions. The Guilderland Planning Board would learn early in the review process if the village of Altamont had any concerns or issues. This important perspective has been lacking since the onset of the proposal.

Waiting essentially until the end of the process also seems at odds with the recent town board proposal to amend the zoning code to get early input on projects even before the formal review process begins at the planning board.

The proposal on the town’s website would introduce a new system of holding pre-application conferences and making provisions for supplemental notice, to bring various town department heads and the public into the development process earlier. A draft version of this amendment posted on the town’s website describes the pre-application conference.

Supervisor Barber commented that it seems that many of the public want to be involved early on in project submissions. Applicants are also encouraged to discuss the concept with adjacent and potentially affected property owners, hear their concerns, and consider mitigation measures early in the process.

I believe both municipalities' comprehensive plans also should be considered seriously in discussing the impact of the solar project. The project not only affects the value of the homeowners’ property in the direct vicinity, but portends serious economic harm to the Orchard Creek Golf Course facility. 

It will compromise the view shed — a significant feature of the facility and an important reason for why the public patronizes this important town business.

I also believe that the negative impact on the general public beyond the immediate neighbors should be considered seriously before any approvals are given. It is this perspective that the village of Altamont would have that is missing in the current deliberations at the town and county levels. 

A 2005 study posted on the town website called “Rural Guilderland: Open Space and Farmland Protection Plan” calls for recognizing the importance of the edges of the village, where it meets with rural Guilderland, and collaborating with the Village to define development and greenbelt areas. It also calls for “protection of scenic, wooded hills and ridges from significant development.”

The plan states, “Traveling through rural Guilderland along scenic roads provides a pleasant experience and opportunity to view the area’s wonderful vistas, farmland, open space, and history. Slowly, dramatic views, unfolding along rolling hills are replaced with driveways, new homes, and the loss of rural character. However, there are opportunities to grow and change while maintaining or even enhancing those qualities that make the town special.”

The town of Guilderland and the village of Altamont comprise an area with these dramatic and significant landforms, major water systems, and a landscape that is rich with evidence of its human history. Its cultural-heritage resources range from tangible built heritage features, open spaces, streetscapes, and land uses to intangible cultural perceptions and oral histories.

Non-renewable in nature, these cultural heritage resources contribute significantly to the character, civic pride, tourism potential, economic benefits, and historical appreciation of our region.

I believe the town and village should work to promote and conserve these cultural heritage resources, archaeological resources, and landscapes. Their policy statements and guiding principles support this goal. 

To allow the construction of a large solar farm that essentially destroys the viewshed of the Helderberg escarpment and landscapes should be seriously discussed in terms of its negative impact to the residents and family businesses for sure, but also to the general public and future generations.

I believe these factors form a legitimate basis for denying the proposed use of this particular property.

The discussions thus far are missing this bigger picture. For example, it seems the Guilderland Planning Board’s suggestions to place wooden fencing instead of wire fencing, plant taller trees, and adjusting buffer areas are insufficient to shield the view of the land and escarpment from the solar panels.

This is the major problem that cannot be mitigated by the measures discussed and misses the whole point of the project’s basic problem. Given the topography of the site, it has proven impossible to mitigate the negative impact to the owners’ properties and to the public’s interest in this important resource.

I believe these perspectives should be part of the ongoing discussions and weighted accordingly in developing the planning board’s recommendations. If the details of the current zoning law’s permitted uses provide no room for evaluating this impact, and ties decision-makers to a limited view, there is something wrong with the law.

It has long been intuitively understood that certain places have a special, distinguishable character based on topography. It is the seeking out of these unique places that drives much of modern tourism.

We truly have a “cultural landscape” at our fingertips like no other in America. The preservation of intact cultural-heritage materials, their histories, and landscapes offers the best possibility for maintaining the character of a certain special area in all its subtle complexity.

For a rural region such as ours, this tapestry of features includes limestone cliffs, rock-cut waterfalls, rock boundary markers, springs, paths, ruins, family burying grounds, a historic fairground, and parks, as well as the more typically accepted heritage resources of farmhouses and the influence of Dutch barns.

These resources provide us with a link to our town and village’s rich past as well as providing a sense of continuity in our rapidly changing world.

I am totally in favor of pursuing renewable energy, and certainly encourage that the town support solar project placements like the two that have recently been installed well off the roads and almost invisible to the general public.

I urge my fellow citizens to recommend this project not go forward on this pristine site. Famed conservationist Rachel Carson believed we should be concerned if we never have the opportunity to see the beauty of our environment, but she contended we should be most concerned if we know we will never see it again.

Jim Gaughan

Altamont

Editor’s note: James Gaughan was Altamont’s mayor from 2005 to 2017.