Tree Mitigation an Unresolved Issue in Mount Kisco Solar Farm Debate
The attorney for the applicant proposing a Mount Kisco solar farm appealed to the village’s Planning Board last week to move the project forward as questions about mitigating tree loss on the 25-acre property persists.
William Null, representing SCS Sarles in its bid to install a solar array on a portion of the parcel at 180 S. Bedford Rd., called for the board to make a negative declaration under the state Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) because nothing new would be learned by the process.
SCS Sarles is projecting the removal of 546 trees from the site to accommodate the more than 5,000 solar panels. The board must determine how and where it wants the applicant to replace the trees.
“I don’t think there’s any more information that we can give you regarding such trees in a (Draft Environmental Impact Statement),” Null said. “So there’s no benefit to doing an EIS on the basis of a claim that there’s a significant adverse impact on the removal of trees.”
Over the past several months, SCS Sarles has made adjustments to its plan, including a slight reduction in the size of the array, moving it entirely out of the buffer and cutting down the number of trees that would be lost.
Complicating the situation for the board is the uncertainty surrounding Homeland Towers’ proposed cell tower for another portion of the same parcel. Homeland Towers application has stalled, as their representatives last appeared before the board last February. Over the past year, the company has been searching for a potential alternative site in the area but has also failed to stay up to date on its escrow account.
In September 2020, the board determined the two projects would be considered in tandem.
Last week, at the continuation of the public hearing on the solar farm, residents continued to urge the board to call for a positive declaration to force the most robust environmental review, if not reject the application.
Resident Nigel Sizer, a board member of Marsh Sanctuary, which borders the property, and a forest ecologist, said the board has discretion on the matter. He said the impacts of clear more than 500 trees would be felt for generations.
“Once this impact is done, it’s done for many, many decades,” Sizer said. “If the solar farm was done, it would take decades, decades, you will still see, a good ecologist will still see impacts of that 200 years later on that landscape.”
Sidney Sicignano, a student at Fox Lane High School and a member of the school’s Green Team, said she was saddened that the board appears to be on the path of approving the project. Alternative locations to place solar panels can be found in the area, she said.
“There are so many places in and around Mount Kisco where solar panels can be installed without cutting down those trees,” Sicignano said. “Once the 500 trees will be cut down, they will be gone for good. Planting saplings in other places will not replace the big beautiful trees and all the soil and animals that depend on them.”
Resident Anne Niemann was one of the speakers who called for a positive declaration because there have been countless environmental issues raised during the hearings, many of which have not been adequately addressed because they can’t be properly mitigated.
“It is the last remaining open space in the village, something that should be of great pride and should be protected at all cost,” she said.
Null said that representatives for the applicant have submitted about 700 pages of detailed analysis in addition to the Environmental Assessment Form, which is required under SEQRA.
“So it’s not as if we submitted something and that’s all there is on the record,” Null said.
Board member Michael McGuirk said there are many issues to consider and tried to assure the public all of those will be given attention.
“I’m going to have a lot of questions,” McGuirk said. “It’s going to be a very robust process. I think our planner is going to present us with all the various questions that must be determined.
Board Chairman Michael Bonforte said he believes the outstanding issues can be addressed.
“I think there’s a solution to be had on an outcome and we’ll work toward that,” he said.
The hearing was adjourned to next week’s meeting, scheduled for Feb. 8.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
