Williams College Gets OK for Solar Installation
 The Williams College property at 835 Simonds Road as seen from Route 7. At left in the rear is the library shelving facility. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College has the green light to use sunlight to produce electricity on Simonds Road.
The Zoning Board of Appeals this month gave its blessing to a 500-kilowatt photovoltaic installation near its library shelving facility, located a mile and a half north of campus near the intersection of Simonds Road (Route 7) and Sand Springs Road.
Just one abutter raised questions about the proposal at the board's public hearing. The owner of the nearby Cozy Corner Motel told the panel he was concerned about the look of the large-scale installation.
"My concern is that the second-floor guests like a mountain view," Bhavin Shah told the ZBA. "Most of our business is for fall foliage. When guests call they ask if they have a good view."
Shah's concern prompted a lengthy discussion about screening for the project.
The board's approval of the project was conditioned on a couple of accommodations to improve the view from the motel, located across Route 7 to the east of the college's property.
The college was required to plant at least four coniferous trees behind the existing deciduous trees along Simonds Road at the property's east end. And the chain-link fence that the college already planned to surround the solar project will be the more expensive black-coated fencing on the road side of the property.
"The location of the trees to be determined based on the visual impact from the second floor of the Cozy Corner Motel," ZBA member David Levine said in making the motion to approve the project.
Representatives of the college asked if they could come to the motel and eyeball the view when planning how to arrange the vegetative screening for the project, and Shah agreed.
"I don't want to be against people," he said. "I'd like to join them."
Another proposal before the ZBA faced stronger opposition from a neighbor. Homeowner David Sweet spoke in opposition to a request by Overland to continue and modify its special permit for tent camping on the grounds of Mount Greylock Regional School from June 1 to Aug. 15.
Jonathan Igoe told the ZBA that the experiential learning program based in town wanted to work with the junior-senior high school to expand its use of the fields, and it wanted to shorten the "quiet hours" for campers.
Sweet told the board that the campers were a nuisance and the noise already was a problem, even during the established quiet hours. He said that because of field conditions, tents in past years have been set up in areas not covered by the program's existing special permit.
"We've always camped where the school wants us to be," Igoe told the board. "We've worked with [custodians and administrators]. We provide the high school with all the dates we're going to be on the grounds."
Sweet also objected to the noise generated by camp counselors visiting their cars during the night. The modern "convenience" of remote keys that set off a chirping sound creates a disturbance at his Cold Spring Road house abutting the corner of the parking lot that Overland uses, he said.
The board sympathized with him on that and other complaints and asked Igoe if there was some way the cars could be parked elsewhere.
Igoe said Mount Greylock has asked Overland to put its staff's cars — which are parked for long periods of time — as far from the school building as possible so as not to interfere with daytime users of the facility. That happens to put them right along the hedgerow that screens the parking lot from Sweet's home.
Levine asked if Overland could control the overnight access to the cars by its staff, and Igoe said it could.
"This is really the first time I've heard this issue," Igoe said.
The ZBA approved a renewal of the special permit but kept the quiet hours the same (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and limited Overland's access to the west side of the school property, on the other side of the school building from Sweet's home.
"I would ask both parties to be conscientious and let us know if there's a problem," ZBA Chairman Andrew Hoar said.
In other business, the board approved an application to operate a dog daycare and overnight boarding business at 1099 New Ashford Road (Route 7 in South Williamstown) and a request to reconstruct a porch at 74 Linden St. No neighbors objected to either endeavor.
Tags: camping, MGRHS, solar array, Williams College, ZBA,
