SEQRA process for controversial solar farm resumes in public

By MARTIN WILBUR

The Mount Kisco Planning Board began the next stage of environmental review of a solar farm application Tuesday evening that is proposed for a portion of the same parcel where a cell tower was approved in 2023.

Applicant SCS Sarles Street LLC II returned with a draft scoping document for the board in hopes that it will convince members of its plans to mitigate potential effects on the community and environment as well as detailing how the project serves a public need. The 2.6-megawatt ground-mounted solar array is proposed for about 6.7 acres of the 25-acre property at 180 South Bedford Road at the corner of Sarles Street near the Bedford town line.

In October 2022, the planning board issued a positive declaration for the project under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, meaning that the applicant is obligated to address any potential significant adverse impacts. The presence of a second application, a cell tower proposed by Homeland Towers that was approved by the same board in August 2023, generated controversy in both Mount Kisco and Bedford, including stern objections from neighbors close to the site and the nearby Marsh Sanctuary.  

Work on an internal driveway on the property is under way related to the cell tower.

This week, representatives for the applicant revealed several proposed changes to the project in order to address concerns over the environment and various impacts. Project engineer Richard Williams of Insite Engineering said removing 12 of the originally proposed “tables” of solar panels will result in having 268 fewer panels, thereby reducing the number of living trees that must be taken down from 546 to 493.

There will be supplemental vegetation planted along the top of a slope on the site and a full stormwater protection plan that will be submitted to comply with New York state and New York city drinking water requirements.

Attorney William Null, representing the applicant, said the state’s goals under the 2019 Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act of procuring 70 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2030 and being powered 100 percent through renewables by 2040 makes this an important proposal that would provide a public benefit. There are also no other sites for his client to consider, he said.

“This project has ConEd clearance and is in the pipeline, so to speak, so if and when you approve the project, and part of that is recognition that it will work and be beneficial to the ConEd grid by being here,” Null said. “So I think that’s important for the climate action protocol and regime that the state has established and is recognition of the infrastructure as part of a public utility system that will enhance the electrical generation in the region, which is why it’s in here.”

The applicant has also asked for a waiver from the planning board of the 200-foot buffer from the cell tower, Williams said. Otherwise, the solar array will comply with all distance requirements from the property lines, he said.

Nearly 5,400 panels will be mounted on 246 tables or structural steel frames that will reach a height of up to eight feet, according to a March 26, 2025, letter from Null to the planning board. 

Planning Board Co-chair Michael McGuirk said he hoped to set the parameters for evaluating the scope and what will eventually end with a final environmental impact statement. He agreed with the applicant’s representatives that the public comments at an upcoming scoping session must focus on the positive declaration, which includes environmental impacts and mitigation efforts.

“I’m comfortable with the applicant meeting with (village) staff to kind of refine this scoping outline to the point where they can come back and we get to discuss,” McGuirk said. “I think we’re getting or we’ve gotten to the point where this is the draft scope and we’d like the public to comment.”

The board must decide whether public comment will be through written comments or if they will also schedule a meeting where speakers contribute to the discussion.

Board member William Phillips urged his board colleagues to take seriously the formal public input this project will generate.

“I don’t think we should underestimate public interest,” Phillips said. “It will be there, I’m very certain.”

Over the next two weeks, the applicant will meet with village staff and consultants to resolve any outstanding issues and will return to the board to continue with the environmental review in about a month. The planning board must also undertake site plan review once the final environmental impact statement is completed.