[2:40] This meeting is being transcribed and summarized.

[4:12] Here. Mr. Mills.

[4:15] Mr. Davis.

[4:16] Here.

[4:17] Mr. Jester.

[4:18] Sir, you have seven President, you do have a quorum.

[4:22] Thank you very much.

[4:23] I also haven't front of you.

[4:24] The agenda for tonight.

[4:25] If there's no additions or corrections.

[4:27] I'll entertain a motion in a second.

[4:29] The move.

[4:30] Second.

[4:31] I have a motion in a second.

[4:33] Sir, call the commission.

[4:34] Mr. Peter.

[4:35] Mr. approve.

[4:35] Mr. Servon.

[4:36] Yes, to approve.

[4:37] Mrs. Carcher.

[4:39] Yes, to approve.

[4:40] Mr. Jester.

[4:41] Yes to approve. Mr. Mills. Yes to approve. Mr. Davils. Yes to approve. Mr.

[4:45] Justor. Yes to approve. Sir, you have seven years in favor of approving tonight's agenda.

[4:51] Thank you very much and I'll come right back to you for the introduction and public

[4:54] care and instructions. Thank you. This public hearing is being conducted for the purpose of

[4:59] giving the citizens.

[5:00] Over the county, the opportunity to present testimony on the applications before the Regional Planning Commission.

[5:06] Everyone will have a chance to speak. All statements should be made from the podium at the front of the room. All testimony

[5:12] given shall be sworn or affirmed. For the record, please give you a name and address. Copies of any written statements

[5:18] are exhibit used during the hearing should be presented for identification and inclusion in the record. The record will

[5:25] remain open for two business days following tonight's hearing.

[5:30] For each application before the commission, the chairman will introduce the application,

[5:35] then the applicant or representative will be given 15 minutes to present the application.

[5:41] Following that, those in favor of the application will be a lot of five minutes each

[5:45] to speak, then those opposed to the application will be a lot of five minutes each to

[5:51] speak.

[5:51] When everyone has had an opportunity to give testimony, the hearing on the application will be closed.

[5:57] No decision will be made tonight by the Commission.

[6:00] The Commission will hold a public business meeting next Thursday, September 10th at 6pm,

[6:07] at which time it will make a decision on the applications heard tonight.

[6:11] All information of record will be considered, and a common vote of four members of the Commission is required to make a decision.

[6:17] Anyone may attend the business meeting, but no new testimony will be received.

[6:23] The public notice of this hearing was published on August 12, 2026, in the Delaware

[6:28] State News.

[6:29] The Levy Court will hear these applications on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 7 p.m.

[6:37] Unlustabled by the Commission, or withdrawn, prior to the Levy Court hearing.

[6:42] The Levy Court also meets in this room.

[6:45] Mr. Sharma.

[6:46] Thank you, Sarah. I appreciate it. I would ask that if you have a cell phone or other electronic device that you either turn it off or have it on vibrate, so it won't disturb us doing this meeting tonight.

[6:56] We'll now get into our public hearing.

[7:00] First one of tonight's agenda is C.S.

[7:02] Day 26,

[7:06] Greek Prope, applicant is Petroleum Equipment,

[7:11] Care of Vente Catality, 3799 North DuPont Highway,

[7:15] Dover Delaware, owner is Stali Holding LLC, 16255,

[7:20] Sussex Highway, Bridgeville, Bridgeville, Merlin.

[7:24] So,

[7:27] it's zoning is AC, it's zoning is,

[7:38] that record district has Mr. Scott, school district

[7:41] is Lake Forest, our district is Federico Station 49, it's 29.5 acres within the Cattail

[7:49] Crete subdivision, project area is 0.26 plus or minus acres, because there's someone here

[7:56] to represent this application, you can come to the mic and I'll have our attorney to either

[8:01] Affirm you, or swear you in.

[8:04] Thank you. Good evening. I'm Charlie Barnett with Morrison Richie Associates,

[8:07] one-one-one-ruth, our drive, and your work dollar.

[8:14] Got his mic. That's Barnett. Do you swear that the attestment you were giving tonight

[8:18] is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

[8:20] I do.

[8:25] All right. Good evening again. Thank you for your time.

[8:29] I'm on me. Here before you tonight, to talk about the Catelle Creek

[8:34] proposed propane facility as you do already explained. I have two gentlemen with me

[8:38] from pours propane tonight if you have questions at the end of my presentation that are

[8:43] outside of expertise or gas or things of that notion they would be glad to speak.

[8:49] I have an answer question.

[8:51] How can we all relate to this correct you have so this did come before you a little over

[8:57] two years ago for a conditional use and a similar waiver it was granted approval at that

[9:03] time and it was granted approval by the levy court in April of 2024.

[9:10] So you must have expired or something you had to come back to.

[9:13] Absolutely.

[9:15] Yes sir.

[9:16] So we're back before we came for two.

[9:17] I don't know.

[9:18] Maybe I'll try three for three.

[9:21] So yes.

[9:22] It was approved back then.

[9:25] There were there were some conditions that were put on the waiver request.

[9:28] And I think, I saw it just up here a minute ago, that slide,

[9:52] so here's the layout of the facility.

[9:57] The next slide is very similar.

[10:00] Similar to the exhibit that was provided when we received that approval back in 2024, there was a conditional

[10:08] some conditions put on the waiver request at that time. The conditional use was fully approved by both

[10:15] the recommended for approval by you commissioners as well as approved by the levy court. However, the actual waiver for the

[10:29] that was provided with that approval.

[10:31] There were, it was our site plan in the background

[10:34] with three dimensions superimposed over top of that plan.

[10:41] And what happened at the time is

[10:44] my client, a propane company, looked at the exhibit.

[10:48] Two of these three dimensions,

[10:51] it was already being met with the site plan at the time.

[10:54] The third dimension that wasn't being met

[10:56] was the 50-foot setback from the Barrett's Chapel Road right away.

[11:02] This plan you're looking at now, again, as I said, is the new layout, and you can see

[11:06] the fence facility part right here at the arrow.

[11:09] At the time, 2024, that fence area, that fence portion of it that contains the meters and

[11:16] actually runs the facility was right up against as close as anything else to the road right

[11:22] way.

[11:25] There were some mistakes made at the time. One of those mistakes was the interpretation

[11:30] of this map, and at the time my client believed that that 50 foot dimension was true the

[11:37] fence itself, not to the underground tanks, but they thought that the dimension they interpreted

[11:44] it to mean that it was a 50 foot requirement to the fence to the road right away. The other

[11:50] state that was made at the time was they went out and built the facility prior to receiving

[11:55] final approval from the planning department.

[11:58] So this facility was actually constructed and is in operation now and it was constructed

[12:05] in the orientation that you see on this plan here before you.

[12:10] I believe it was an honest mistake made by them.

[12:13] I don't think it was malicious in any way.

[12:16] From what I can tell and what they've told me there's really no financial benefit they would have to

[12:21] Constructing it this way versus moving things at that time further away, but that's what was done

[12:28] They they fully understand that they made a mistake that they were in the wrong

[12:34] They are

[12:35] apologetic for it. They admit that it's it's it's to their fault

[12:40] In this circumstance, I often try to put myself in the shoes of of the people I'm dealing with

[12:46] They build these facilities all over the place.

[12:50] They have many of them in operation now.

[12:53] They provide propane to a lot of individual homes.

[12:57] They are governed by federal guidelines that are also adopted by the state of Delaware,

[13:03] the Public Utilities Commission, and all the counties follow that.

[13:07] Another option had they not gotten the conditional use in the first place was there within

[13:12] There are rights they could have put a 2,000 gallon tank in each one of the 175 lots in

[13:18] this neighborhood.

[13:19] They could have put each one of those tanks within 10 foot of a home, within 10 foot of

[13:24] a neighboring property line.

[13:26] Completely within their rights, wouldn't it had to go through this process, wouldn't

[13:28] need the conditional use, meets federal guidelines, very easily could have done that.

[13:34] So the setbacks to the tanks in the ground to them, it's just their perception of it

[13:39] through all the projects they do, it's not as a concern

[13:42] as that fence area, the actual facility.

[13:46] What makes this a facility in their mind

[13:47] is the fact that they have a regulator inside a fence

[13:50] to protect it from other people getting to it.

[13:53] So I think trying to put myself in their shoes to me

[13:56] and make sense that they would see that as the governing thing

[13:58] that the planning department wanted to be moved

[14:01] further away from the road.

[14:03] And as you can see from the plan that we prepared now,

[14:06] it's based off of what we surveyed when we actually located where it ended up being built.

[14:12] It is more than 50 feet off of the road right away. So now we're in this position of what

[14:17] we do, right? It's in the ground. There are 81 homes already built and using propane from this

[14:23] facility in the neighborhood. Again, the condition of use itself was approved by the levee court

[14:30] back then. We would hope it would be approved again now because it's expired. But what do you

[14:35] about the wave or on the setbacks.

[14:40] They've already paid me a lot more than they would have paid

[14:43] so you have it approved the right way the first time so I don't think you know they've gotten

[14:48] away with something as far as financially here. There's really no benefit to them financially by

[14:54] again this orientation versus the tanks being a little bit further away from the road.

[15:01] The recommendation in the report that you have asks that they be moved, all the underground propane tanks, so that they would be 50 feet away from the road right away, which is an 11 foot difference.

[15:14] So, if that were the route we were to go, they would have to shut off service to the 81 homes, all the people relying on it for heat, cooking and laundry, hot water, whatever.

[15:26] They would have to empty out all the tanks.

[15:30] I don't know if that goes to the air or it's recovered somehow.

[15:32] I'm not familiar with that process.

[15:34] They'd have to dig up all nine tanks, find a new place to bury them.

[15:41] If you notice, as I said, that difference to make them 50 feet away from that road right

[15:46] away line is a difference of 11 feet.

[15:48] They would have to move all those tanks to 11 feet further away from the road.

[15:52] If you look at the math with how far we are to this building set back here now, we're 135 feet away from it.

[16:00] The county has graciously said that they're okay with it being 125.

[16:04] Well that's only 10 feet.

[16:05] So if we're going to move it 11 feet further away from the road and we only have 10 more feet in the back.

[16:08] We've got a completely related whole thing out. They've got a completely come out with a new system.

[16:12] I think it would fit, but they can't just move those couple of tanks.

[16:15] would have to move more. Further, the only thing that would really accomplish in their mind is

[16:22] all of these tanks would now be closer to the only home that's built out there, the closest

[16:27] home that's built out there, which would be this home in last 70. Instead of being 125 or 135 feet

[16:32] based with it, there are currently 135 feet away from the building setback line now. They would

[16:38] probably end up being closer to that because we'd have to move more further away from the road.

[16:43] Moving the further away from the road only gets you further from any potential house across the street.

[16:47] There's no house there now.

[16:49] And if there were a home to be built there, I believe it's front set back,

[16:52] being also the established Delta suit would be a 40 foot front set back.

[16:56] And that would be 145 feet away from where the tanks are now.

[17:01] So we're just stuck at this situation where

[17:05] is all of that effort.

[17:06] The thousands of dollars from the move all this.

[17:08] But the inconvenience of putting those 81 homeowners is that worth 11 feet for an underground

[17:14] storage tank that really, well exceeds all the federal codes and those types of things.

[17:21] So again, that is not an excuse, that is not, that is not my client saying that they're in

[17:28] the right and they should be okay, they completely, completely admit that they made a mistake

[17:35] here, throw ourselves at the mercy of you folks, and let me

[17:38] court, obviously, but that's where we are.

[17:42] And I ask a question, you keep saying they did it.

[17:44] They did it, they in who is today.

[17:46] Oh, I'm sorry, well, the propane company installed the tanks.

[17:53] They have a name.

[17:54] Poor's propane, yes.

[17:56] OK, because you kept saying, day, and I didn't know you.

[17:59] I'm at my client, I apologize.

[18:00] Yep.

[18:01] OK.

[18:01] I think there is a couple of questions Mr. Davis.

[18:06] I remember some of this in the hearing before, I guess I got a couple of questions.

[18:12] Would you show me where the first of all the questions be, is it tank area that has

[18:19] a thousand gallon tanks?

[18:20] Are they have a fence around that area?

[18:23] The fence is not around the tanks.

[18:25] The fence is around the meter that controls the flow of the regulator.

[18:33] I'm sorry that that controls the amount coming in and out. The tanks themselves are not. I think

[18:39] There is a

[18:41] Where do I hide your

[18:44] so this is the public notice sign that's out there right now. You can actually see the fence in the background

[18:53] What's that a fence behind the tank lid?

[18:57] That that's a black metal fence around the and this is that regulator that they're talking about says

[19:04] So each tank will have a cap on it, a big suppose, like you have in the picture.

[19:10] So each other?

[19:11] This is one fenced in area that handles all nine tanks.

[19:19] So here's where that fence is.

[19:23] Okay.

[19:24] And the tanks are lined in front of it and onto the ones.

[19:26] Second question, point out to me where the truck would come from the gas company to make it delivery to fill those tanks. How did they get to that area?

[19:37] This portion over here is a zoomed-out version of this, okay? So here's the facility where we're just talking about a very travel road.

[19:45] There is an access drive here that comes around the lots, the truck and park here, and then run a hose down to do what they need to do.

[19:55] And lastly, do you know what's the distance to the post of Fall Hygiene?

[20:02] I do not know the distance to the closest fire hydrant. Sorry.

[20:06] But I think we had that discussion a couple years ago. We had a concern about the hydrogen,

[20:12] being put in close to the case of fire, everyone said it has to get water.

[20:18] I like the answer, maybe, for next week.

[20:21] I could do that. Absolutely. I can say that while they did not get final plan approval from the

[20:30] fire marshal and from the conservation district and then after was built the fire marshal did come out

[20:36] inspect and approve it as a facility. I'm in a fire sir, so you go worry about approval here.

[20:43] I absolutely I absolutely got that one and then go out to the station. I want my question answered. Thank you.

[20:49] Absolutely. Mr. Servon. Yes, do you know how far away that closed this natural gas line is?

[20:57] I do not. I believe that this facility was proposed because there wasn't that option around.

[21:06] I don't know if that's something we know.

[21:09] Yeah. I don't think it's particularly a cost involved with extending the natural gas line.

[21:13] I was wondering if that was considered.

[21:15] I'm not a part of that name, but that's completely up to the companies.

[21:20] Yeah, I believe we talked about that natural gas line where it was that before and how far it was from the facility.

[21:25] But that was out of the question because of the amount of money

[21:28] it would cost to run it there.

[21:30] I believe that's the case, but I can tell where it is.

[21:32] Or I mean, too, that goes a long time.

[21:34] I don't remember what I had for dinner last night.

[21:37] So 22 years a long time.

[21:44] How deep is the top of that tank under the ground?

[21:52] Two feet.

[21:53] Two feet.

[21:55] And you know, I had no fence around so the kids can play right on top

[21:58] of the tank, she was about, right?

[22:01] Yeah.

[22:03] I didn't hear him.

[22:05] He said the tanks are secure with padlocks.

[22:08] I understand that, but I'm just saying about it one out of blows,

[22:13] what's going to happen

[22:14] to the kids?

[22:14] You're going to be the first space cadets.

[22:17] I'm not sure of that.

[22:18] I know it's not in an active recreation portion of the open space of the subdivision.

[22:25] Would you be willing to fence in the tanks?

[22:34] If you have something to say, I don't want to take it out of the audience, but that's a question

[22:38] has to be answered. He'll have to come up and give his name and be sworn in.

[22:42] Very well. It's probably a question that would be better answered by someone other than me.

[22:46] I can, uh, I can have somebody address that if you'd like.

[22:49] It just don't seem like a good idea to admit it. There's that many tanks there that aren't a fence

[22:54] around with that many houses. And the other question I had for you is that all the people in that

[23:00] development, they've got to buy that gas from your people, right? None of my key hand with their

[23:05] private gas company come in drop off of a hollow gallon tank or whatever the tanks are I believe

[23:11] that's the case correct.

[23:17] So and who regulates the price on that? So I'm Michael Stiner

[23:23] with the company this morning. Okay that was Mr. Peter Mineskin and questions I didn't

[23:26] recognize him so so our secretary and who he is so you'll have to be give us your name

[23:31] and address and be sworn in sir. Michael Stiner 2312 Bridgeway Road. Get up by the

[23:37] microphones. Michael Stiner, 2312, Ridgeway Road, Wilmington, Delaware, Sir, do you swear or

[23:45] affirm to tell the truth? The whole truth and nothing about the truth? I do. Can you ask

[23:50] answer Mr. Peter with questions that he asked you about the service and all? There were two

[23:54] questions. So number one, if it's a request, if you would like to us to put a fence off of it, if you

[24:00] would like to put a fence as part of this, we'd be willing to do it. You're going to do it?

[24:06] As a condition for approval, we would do it.

[24:15] That's it.

[24:18] Why else have any questions for this gentleman?

[24:20] If not, thank you, sir.

[24:22] Thank you both for your presentation.

[24:24] I assume the engineer you're done with your presentation.

[24:27] I am a specialist for the questions.

[24:29] Don't wait another two years.

[24:31] We'll have make sure we get this done right this time.

[24:32] We'll try not to thank you.

[24:34] Thank you, sir.

[24:35] Is there anyone else here in favor of this application?

[24:37] Would like to speak?

[24:39] Anyone else in favor?

[24:41] third and final call on anyone else in favor. Is anyone else opposed? Is there anyone

[24:46] here opposed to what they've done or how they've done it? Come on up and give us your name

[24:51] and address and you can be sworn or affirmed.

[25:00] Dave Hanks, felt in Delaware. This plan, sorry, was I, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing about the truth?

[25:11] Yes, sir, to best in liability.

[25:14] This plan was all done wrong from the beginning. But since it's done and after math, you should make sure that it can be done correctly.

[25:26] I just came from that site today and drove into it with my pickup truck.

[25:32] I've been delivering propane and gas for over 25 years.

[25:36] Somebody in file weather trying to deliver their 9, 10,000 gallon tanks will be in there every day to fill those tanks.

[25:47] If you want to make it more advantageous for not only for the drivers and the customers,

[25:54] I would greatly suggest that on the road that you make a 35-foot pull off for the truck driver

[26:01] to deliver the tanks because when you go in there with a bob tail or a 10-wheel propane tank

[26:09] that holds 4-5,000 gallons of propane and you're trying to fill 9-10,000 gallon tanks.

[26:17] You're going to be in there every day when you get a cold step.

[26:21] with the houses in there now that have heat system and you get a cold snap like this last

[26:30] year.

[26:31] There's tanks are going to be sucked dry very quickly and if you don't put in a reservation

[26:39] or a stipend that there are going to be certain types of hours for delivery trucks are going

[26:46] in there all the time and you won't have to worry about so much for explosion or fire because

[26:54] propane is one of the safest energy forms around. If there's a fire or explosion it will only

[27:00] contain that tank and it'll be a flames straight up and since it's underground you won't have to

[27:08] we're about taking anything else out, but for stipulations for this to be approved, I would

[27:17] also say that they have a 35 foot pull off, make it easier for the truck driver to fill

[27:23] those 10, 9, 10,000 gallon tanks.

[27:29] Thank you.

[27:30] Thank you for your comments, sir.

[27:32] I appreciate anybody having any questions?

[27:35] Very good.

[27:35] Is there anybody else here that's opposed to this application we'd like to speak?

[27:40] Third and final call and then one else here opposed this application.

[27:44] If not, we'll be taking this application up next week.

[27:46] Thank you for your comments.

[28:07] Our next application tonight is CS-26-04 Pro-Cut Tree Services.

[28:14] Owner is William Darby L.L.C.

[28:17] Little Creek Delaware Engineer and Centering Engineering.

[28:20] The zoning district is AC,

[28:23] the relationship to the Grove Zone is outside,

[28:30] water and wastewater is a city of dover and on-site septic.

[28:34] Levy court district is a third, Mr. Angel,

[28:37] school district is capital.

[28:39] Our district is Little Creek's 54.

[28:43] It's 5.86 acres on the south side of Little Creek Road,

[28:47] and I guess there's somebody at the mic that's here to represent this application.

[28:50] And once again, I believe we've already taken this application up about a year ago, haven't we?

[28:56] Yeah, quite a few.

[28:57] Anyway, if you'll give us your name and address, you can make Schwarzner affirmed.

[29:01] Yeah, some William Derby, 1788 North Little Creek Road.

[29:05] And I'm Colby Koch, 19 Roosevelt, I haven't introduced over Delaware.

[29:11] Gentlemen, do you smoke?

[29:14] Drew Boyce with Central Engineering, 505 Bay Road, go for Delaware.

[29:19] You gentlemen, do you swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give?

[29:22] Is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

[29:25] Yes, yes, thank you.

[29:27] Thank you.

[29:28] We're going to write a hint.

[29:29] Can I ask why we had to come back?

[29:32] Yes, so we were unable to make the respective submissions and get approval from the

[29:40] required agencies so the conditional use had expired before we could get through that process.

[29:48] Do you agree with all staff recommendation on report?

[29:52] Yes, I do.

[29:54] Okay, go right ahead with whatever your presentation.

[29:58] So we, our seat.

[30:00] Making a conditional use for the landscaping and horticultural operation at the 1-8-1-8 North Little Creek Road.

[30:10] Right now, it currently doesn't have a access road or entrance to the site. So we are looking to improve the site and add a proposed entrance road for the employees and any potential clients that would need to access this business.

[30:27] We are also proposing to improve some building improvements.

[30:33] We'll be removing part of the agricultural building that's out there and we're going to leave

[30:39] a 360 square foot.

[30:43] Office is going to be remaining as well as a 200 square foot field office during construction.

[30:51] And then once construction is finished,

[30:54] The 200 square foot field office will be removed in the 360 square foot office will remain along with the new newly constructed 9,000, 9,999 square foot agricultural building.

[31:09] Is anything you're speaking about tonight?

[31:11] Change from what you did when you was here previously?

[31:14] No sir.

[31:16] Okay.

[31:17] Is that your presentation?

[31:20] Is anybody here having any questions?

[31:25] I was actually up there today taking a look at it. The trees that you planted, the

[31:32] two rows of trees, that's where the roads are going to go through those two rows, right?

[31:36] Sure. But they grew fast, that's curious of what species they were.

[31:40] Green giant urban bodies, there's where the yard recommendation to install those around

[31:46] the property. So it's in the urban finding family.

[31:49] So, in the time that it took you to get back here,

[31:51] those trees that actually grow in a pretty well.

[31:53] So, they have a nice buffer.

[31:55] The structure that you're taking down,

[31:57] that's the old barn kind of structure.

[32:01] Okay, great.

[32:02] That should be a nice improvement.

[32:04] I did look over where there were some recommendations.

[32:08] Sidewalks, but that area doesn't make any sense at all for them to be there.

[32:12] So, great.

[32:14] Okay, thank you very much.

[32:15] That was Mr. Gorbry. I didn't get to recognize you. I'm sorry. My phone. Anybody else have any questions? Mr. Servon?

[32:22] Yes. Could you please show us on the map all these things that you identified?

[32:28] Where's the access road going and what were these buildings and so forth?

[32:31] Oh,

[32:34] there's a plan. Where do I use the pointer?

[32:38] So, right here is where the proposed entrance and access road is going to be to the site, and then it will come down around this existing stormwater pond here, and then it will tie in to the existing gravel, paving that's kind of this area.

[32:58] And then the building is going to be, it's essentially going to be over where the current existing

[33:06] structures and it is going to be separated from the 360 square foot existing office that's going to remain.

[33:17] Where's that one? Is that the red roof building?

[33:21] The office is right just off to the left here. I'm kind of where my area is pointing at now.

[33:34] And outlined it 10,000 foot building.

[33:38] It's essentially kind of right in here.

[33:40] If there's about like a six foot gap,

[33:43] that'll be off of the existing office,

[33:46] that's kind of a remain out there.

[33:54] Thank you very much.

[33:55] Anybody else have any questions?

[33:59] Thank you, sir.

[33:59] Thank you, gentlemen, for your presentation.

[34:01] Thank you very much.

[34:02] Thank you, sir.

[34:03] Is there anyone else here that's in favor of this project?

[34:05] And would like to speak?

[34:09] Anyone else here in favor of this project?

[34:11] Third and final call would like to speak?

[34:13] We'll go over to the negative side. Is there anyone? Is there anybody online? I forgot to ask by deadmark.

[34:21] So Mr. Chair, just for the record, we currently don't have it. Do not have any members from the general public online.

[34:27] So just wanted to put that in the comments.

[34:30] If somebody comes on, let me know.

[34:32] I will do that.

[34:34] Is there anybody here that's against this application we'd like to speak?

[34:39] Anybody against this application would like to speak, third and final call, anyone against

[34:44] this application.

[34:45] If not then we'll be taking this application up next week.

[34:48] Thank you all for your presentations.

[35:14] Our last application for tonight's public hearing is actually C. Day's 26th day, so 5. Sunrise Shals Corner solar,

[35:24] applicant is Sunrise solar care of Dan Bulger, 6408 Churchill Road, Chester Tamm Rowan, owner

[35:32] is David E. Byler, 2485 Shals Corner Road, Clayton Delaware. Engineer is Becker Morgan, property

[35:40] location is on Charles Corner Road.

[35:46] It's outside the Groves Zone. Present

[35:47] used as agriculture. Levy Court District is the second hall. School District

[35:53] is Smurna, Fire District is Chazzle Station 43. It's actually 16.5 O acres of 24.6

[36:01] O acres total. It's on the east side of Charles Corner Road and I see there's

[36:06] somebody at the mic that's going to be sworn in or give us their name and address.

[36:12] Yes, good evening. My name is John Falkowski. I'm a civil engineer with Becker Morgan Group, 309, South

[36:17] Governors Avenue, Dover Delaware. Mr. Falkowski, do you swear or affirm that the testimony

[36:22] you're about to give is the truth of the whole truth? Nothing about the truth. I do. Thank you.

[36:29] Thank you for bringing up the presentation. I have a couple slides here to present today. Again,

[36:34] my name is John Falkowski, the civil engineer for the project. I have a few representatives here

[36:39] from sunrise solar, as well, if case

[36:41] there's any technical questions.

[36:43] This project is a community energy generating facility

[36:46] located in a Clayton address.

[36:49] It's really just south of Kenton on Shaw's corner road.

[36:55] You can see here, it's a agricultural site,

[36:58] the total area of the parcel.

[37:00] It's actually two parcels.

[37:03] The property line separating the two parcels

[37:05] is shown there as a dash line.

[37:07] We would be consolidating the two parcels

[37:10] for a total of 24.6 acres. The fenced area shown in green. That is the 16.5 acres. That

[37:19] is the array. I'll show you in a second. But this is the existing parcel agricultural use. You

[37:25] can see wooded area in the back. There's actually a creek behind there. It's got flood plains

[37:31] and wetlands. And I'll go over those setbacks and things that we meet in a second. The area

[37:37] is mostly residential and agricultural use in the surrounding area,

[37:41] just like this site.

[37:47] Thank you for making you bigger.

[37:49] This is a graphical representation of the site plane

[37:52] you've received.

[37:53] You can see the array there in these trackers.

[37:56] This is a four megawatt, a little less than four megawatt

[38:00] AC tracker system.

[38:03] And I'll just go over some of the site amenities.

[38:05] It's all in accordance with the solar ordinance.

[38:09] The green area you see around the entire or three sides of the perimeter, but that is the landscape buffer that is a 20-foot wide landscape buffer consisting of all evergreen trees, about ten evergreen trees per hundred linear feet.

[38:26] That's a pretty typical standard buffer detail for the solar projects.

[38:30] This project will take access offsholes corner road with a new site access shown right there.

[38:37] The entrance itself would meet Delta of standards as a paved entrance meeting Delta, they have a solar farm entrance detail now.

[38:45] We'll be following that.

[38:47] And then the road coming into the facility would be a gravel road with a turnaround here at the inverter locations.

[38:55] And that turnaround is designed for the fire apparatus that meets their turnaround requirements.

[39:02] And I'll talk about the Fencing in a minute, but the entire facility is surrounded by a 7 foot tall agricultural, not wire fence.

[39:11] I have a photo of I'll show you that in a minute.

[39:14] They only gate for the most part.

[39:16] There'll be a couple of access gates around the facility, but the main gate for vehicular access is at this main entrance.

[39:23] And it will have a Knox box for fire, fire and EMS access.

[39:30] As I mentioned, the rear of the site, there is floodplain and wetlands back there, but we

[39:38] are meeting the 100 foot, we're actually in excess of the 100 foot buffers from both of

[39:43] the stream buffer and both the wetland buffer.

[39:46] As well as other setbacks that are hard to see on this plan, but we do meet all the residential

[39:53] dwelling buffers its 100 foot front set back and then 150 feet from any offsite.

[40:00] This is a AC zone outside the girth zone, and so it's 150 feet from many neighboring dwellings, which we exceed.

[40:13] This is a detail that will be on the final site plans, as well as a graphical representation of what that looks like.

[40:19] That's what they call a not-wire fence. It's a 12.5-gauge metal fence that has 4x4 inch openings.

[40:29] That will allow for small wildlife to get through those, as well as every 100 feet we would

[40:35] cut in that bottom of the fence we would cut a 12-inch by 12-inch opening to allow for

[40:41] the medium-sized wildlife to fox and to actually be able to enter the facility exit of the facility

[40:47] should they get in and they're not trapped.

[40:49] So, very minimal disruption to the wildlife.

[40:52] It is a wooden posts, as you see there, and the metal fencing with all gates and things

[41:00] put in concrete and it will hold up over time.

[41:07] That is a blow up of the landscape detail.

[41:10] You can see there the staggered Evergreen's, Mr. Grovery was speaking to earlier, it could

[41:16] be something like a green giant or something that grows quick and shields the facility

[41:21] from neighboring views and that staggering is so that they can be put closer together, but still

[41:26] have enough room to grow in properly and provide the proper screening.

[41:33] This is a typical rendering

[41:35] of what that may look like after, say, four years. You've noted that in two years you

[41:40] need to get significant growth on some of those evergreen, arbor variety style trees, and so this

[41:44] is about a five-year growth and it will continue to get a little bit bigger but not big enough

[41:50] that they would shield the solar facility

[41:52] from the sunlight and defeat that purpose.

[41:59] We were in receipt of some of the neighboring opposition letters.

[42:04] There was a few that we received.

[42:05] We've reviewed them all.

[42:06] We've had contact with several of the neighbors,

[42:10] the sunrise solar is met with some and spoken with some.

[42:13] One of the concerns other than the items

[42:16] I've addressed already was the noise.

[42:20] So we did a, you can see here,

[42:21] This is a decibel chart on the side, hard to read there, but the only thing that makes noise

[42:28] is the inverters, that was at the end of the entrance road, and they're roughly 69 decibels

[42:33] if you were standing right next to it.

[42:36] Once you get past that, you can see the decibels drop down as you get 50 feet, 150 feet.

[42:44] So by the time you get to your minimum ordinance separation from a dwelling unit, you're into

[42:48] the mid-30s, which is a very quiet, you have refrigerator, quiet office. Our nearest neighbor

[42:55] is 240 feet, 244 feet, and that's the neighbor directly across from us. You can see the

[43:03] decibels are a quiet office at 32 decibels. The others I don't, I don't go backwards.

[43:08] I'd

[43:15] like to go backwards.

[43:27] I was going.

[43:28] Just stopped working.

[43:33] Sorry?

[43:35] Yeah, I was just trying to go back as long as it's stopped working.

[43:40] Apologies.

[43:41] I keep going one more.

[43:44] Go back to the cyclone.

[43:45] If you would, the colorized cyclone.

[43:47] Right there.

[43:48] That one's good.

[43:49] So the inverters are located here.

[43:51] The 244 feet to the nearest neighbor is directly across the street.

[43:55] But you can see where well and access to that to neighbors to the north and south.

[43:59] So, the audible at the property line is next to nothing, I just want to do throw that out there for the residents in the area and you as well.

[44:11] One thing to note too, I didn't touch on, what is typical for these solar projects in the way it can't conservation district reviews these projects is that the ag land that is currently here in order to meet the regulations for Stonewater runoff will be planning a meto mix throughout the facility and throughout the landscaping buffer.

[44:30] That's a meadow mix, a pollinator, if you will, that gets planted and grown in.

[44:35] It does get periodically maintained, it'll get cut back, maybe twice a year.

[44:41] But that is all the traffic that this site also generates.

[44:47] The maintenance staff that will come in and take care of the buffers and things like that.

[44:51] They'll only come in one to two times a year, so this facility also won't generate much traffic.

[45:00] Now it's working again. So I just want to touch base on the Kent County conditional use standards.

[45:06] You know, I was like to hit on these four in a conditional use project, the location appropriate, not in conflict with comprehensive plan.

[45:15] This is on the west side of the county and is in character with some of the neighboring agricultural farmland with mixed clusters of residential.

[45:24] public health and safety will not be adverse and infected. I have going over some of those

[45:29] things that we've covered about the buffering and minimal disturbance for putting these

[45:35] in. They're driven in. They're not heavy disturbance throughout the sites of very minimal

[45:40] disturbance. And as far as the conditions of approval for the county, we do the soil testing

[45:48] that is required at building permit stage, the baseline soil testing.

[45:52] Off-street parking already touched on that. There is no parking of this site,

[45:55] because we don't anticipate heavy traffic just,

[45:58] they'll park in that turning that turn around area briefly.

[46:05] And then the project does meet all the buffers and setbacks contained in the ordinance,

[46:08] and they'll be maintained to protect surrounding properties.

[46:12] So those are the necessary safeguards protecting the neighbors.

[46:16] Touchstone all these, but these are the setbacks listed for a solar community solar project in AC outside of the growth zone.

[46:23] The buffers are listed here, and we meet all of those as well as the landscape buffering.

[46:29] As I mentioned, the soil testing will be provided as well as a decommissioning plan, which I believe you already have.

[46:35] And then the cost estimate will be reviewed third party and approved and a bond issued for the decommissioning.

[46:45] So again, just to summarize, this is a community energy-generating facility.

[46:51] It is Delmarva Power. You've heard of some of these before, but it is Delmarva Power,

[46:55] a service territory that the community energy facilities give the energy back to that grid.

[47:03] And this does comply with all the local with the solar buffer ordinance.

[47:08] Happy to take any questions, any specifics?

[47:11] Yeah, I got a couple of questions for you.

[47:13] Sure, do you know who it's benefiting?

[47:15] Who it's benefit electricity goes to it's benefiting well the this program does go to Delmarvah power subscribers

[47:24] And they can get into this specific specifics of the program, but anyone that is a Delmarvah power subscriber is able to sign up for the program

[47:32] For upwards of a 10% savings on their electric bill and that can be small commercial it could be residential

[47:38] But it does have to be Delmarvah power

[47:41] As far as the record goes, you said you'd do the soil testing to begin with, and then you

[47:46] do it at whatever five years. Correct. I thought that's what it typically was. Yep, that's

[47:51] a condition of the ordinance. It will be a conditional final approval at baseline testing

[47:55] at building permits, stage, and then five year testing after that to make sure everything

[48:01] still in line. I got a question about a dotted line that goes across through the solar system.

[48:07] It probably won't make any sense to me which you'll tell me it is, but it shares a dotted line

[48:12] on one side.

[48:12] It's got IGB type A and it's got H and A type B. I wonder what that matter represented

[48:20] on the drawing.

[48:21] Is that on the site planet itself?

[48:24] Yes.

[48:24] That's the soil types.

[48:27] So there's two different soil types on the soil types.

[48:31] The soil types.

[48:32] Okay, wasn't described and I tried looking in your other sheet and see where there's anything else.

[48:38] Any other commissioners have any questions?

[48:44] No, nobody has any?

[48:45] Thank you.

[48:47] Okay, go ahead.

[48:50] Uh, just a question.

[48:51] How tall are these panels off the ground?

[48:54] At full tilt.

[48:56] I believe 15 feet.

[48:57] They're the max.

[48:58] These are the panels.

[48:59] So they tilt.

[49:00] They follow the sun.

[49:01] So they track with the sun.

[49:02] So in the beginning and end of the day they'll be at tilt and at 15 feet to the highest peak

[49:08] at midday they'll be flat, which is about 7 feet.

[49:11] I read a good article the other day and I got interested in when I read, well I didn't

[49:15] read.

[49:15] It's all on the internet.

[49:16] You don't read that.

[49:17] You just watch it.

[49:20] Well, at a one county and another state, they were putting the solar panels high enough

[49:24] and the grass is under that they were growing, they were putting sheep in the field, the

[49:30] on the on the land and the sheep are doing much better because of the fact that the solar panels

[49:36] were shading the grass and keeping it much lower and tender and you know it's just something

[49:42] we may want to think about in the future if that be possible and as I say you know I hate to

[49:51] see solar panels taking up agriculture land I do that or housing developments too but they're here

[49:58] and I guess we gotta live with them, but...

[50:00] I just wanted to throw that out about apparently a farmer owns his land. That's just a

[50:09] buzzable. It has been discussed in Sussex County. Some of the solar applications down there,

[50:15] what you're referring to, I believe it's called Fulgrove Health. Fulgrove, I'll take with the sheep grazing

[50:21] basically. I don't think we have any intentions to do that here, but it is something that many

[50:27] you're looking into in the state.

[50:30] Yeah, I've seen that mentioned also.

[50:31] I get a magazine called Lancaster Farmer.

[50:34] And I see they do it in Pennsylvania all the time.

[50:36] And they've actually created, you know,

[50:38] being able to make money off that these organizations have.

[50:42] So anybody else has any questions?

[50:46] Seeing none, thank you, sir.

[50:47] Appreciate it.

[50:49] I'll now open it up for general public.

[50:51] Is there anyone here that would like to speak in favor of this application?

[50:55] speak in favor. Anyone here would like to speak in favor? Third and final call in favor

[51:03] of this application. We'll go over to the other side now if there weren't anyone here

[51:08] that's against this application would like to speak. The lady up front here first, come

[51:13] up and give us your name and address your biggest horn and affirm. And then make sure you pull

[51:18] the mic down to where you can talk into it. There you go.

[51:21] Hi, my name is Kelly Ward.

[51:22] I live at 87 new farm court in Clayton, Delaware.

[51:26] Yes, do you swear I tell the truth, the hope, swear or affirm, to tell the truth, the

[51:29] hope, truth and nothing about the truth?

[51:31] I do.

[51:32] I live in White Tail Run.

[51:34] If you look at exhibit A, there's an injection from our HOA.

[51:38] I just wanted to point out, it represents 155 homes.

[51:42] My home, particularly, backs right up to this.

[51:45] You can see that arm there that kind of curves out.

[51:48] That's the cold to sack I live in.

[51:50] I can put your finger on that map, and you can just

[51:52] slide.

[51:53] You put the pointer where you live.

[51:55] That's where I live.

[51:57] So I can stand outside on my property, and I can see

[52:01] the farmers field currently.

[52:03] So there are some trees that are blocking that area,

[52:07] but they're very minimal.

[52:08] I understand that they're going to put it evergreen.

[52:12] So that will mediate that as well.

[52:14] But then I think it had recommended eight to ten foot

[52:17] I believe the gentleman in the engineer had said they were putting in seven foot fencing.

[52:21] There are a lot of deer, a lot of wildlife in this area.

[52:26] And as you know, deer jump pretty high.

[52:29] So I believe that is why the Generac recommendation was eight to ten feet. Again, seven feet.

[52:34] A deer could easily jump that and then they're trapped at that point inside of that fencing.

[52:38] What do we do? I think you mentioned there was one access point.

[52:43] So then what happens then?

[52:46] We also, the community I looked into, there are documented cases where depreciation and home value

[52:53] occurs when these solar projects are close to the homes.

[52:58] I know that they're reaching them set back and then some.

[53:02] But it is going to be visible.

[53:03] I live in a two-story home that backs right into this.

[53:06] So I'll look out my bedroom window and potentially see them because they're 15 feet high.

[53:10] And the ever-greens are only eight feet tall or at their highest, I believe he said.

[53:17] So again, I'm looking at my bedroom when you are seeing a solar farm.

[53:20] And then when they are tilted at a certain angle, is that clear now I'm going to shine into my home.

[53:25] So while I am in Delmarbo, a power, you know, subscriber, if I save 10% of my monthly bill,

[53:32] because of that solar farm, I'm now increasing my monthly bill because the glare is coming into my home, heating my home.

[53:37] So that was some of my personal things.

[53:42] Some of the other community concerns how to do with habitat loss and fragmentation.

[53:47] That's obviously going to happen.

[53:49] You're going to have polarized light pollution.

[53:52] There have been instances where migratory birds see the glare from these

[53:56] and they think that is water sources.

[53:58] So you're going to interrupt the migratory patterns potentially for some birds.

[54:05] I think that was all I had.

[54:09] Well, we thank you for your presentation.

[54:11] Anybody have any questions for this young lady?

[54:13] Thanks again for coming up to the mic.

[54:15] Yeah, thank you.

[54:17] I think there's another lady back there.

[54:18] We'd like to come up.

[54:19] Give us her name.

[54:20] She can be either sworn or a firm.

[54:25] My name is Maggie McMullen.

[54:27] My address is 2523 Shals Corner Road.

[54:32] In Clayton.

[54:33] Do you swear or a firm that testimony?

[54:35] you will give tonight is the truth, the whole truth and nothing about the truth?

[54:38] Yes.

[54:41] The gentleman said this is a community site, the people of the community, most of them are a lot

[54:48] of us are here.

[54:49] We are highly against this, we do not want to see anything like this in our area.

[54:53] The farmland that you are speaking of, the owner of that rents that out, I have le-

[55:00] Live in that area for 27 and a half years, where I have raised my son and now my grandchildren.

[55:09] There, as the lady said, there is a lot of deer to go through there.

[55:12] They cut ray through all yards and everything else.

[55:17] There is multiple families that live on that road.

[55:21] So the children are walking to school. They're having to go buy that.

[55:27] I, for one, and one drain if this is a community thing, he said this, this, this, like this power, it's going to generate, it's going to go back to do more of a power.

[55:39] So if it's a community thing, then it shouldn't stay within the community.

[55:45] And shouldn't the people in the community decide whether they even want that, because I don't care.

[55:49] I don't care about spending an extra $50 a month to not have solar panels to see every time

[55:55] I ride up and down the road that I have lived on for 27 and a half years.

[56:02] There are terrible to see.

[56:03] There are many other places they could be.

[56:06] This land is formed every year since I have been there.

[56:12] And if these solar panels are moving, depending on how the light is, okay?

[56:17] So, when are they going to reflect them to people's eyes that are driving down the road?

[56:22] Helms that go and hit their eyes.

[56:24] Another thing, I have been told that these can catch on fire.

[56:28] There's no fire hydrogens close to that.

[56:31] As far as I know, chasel is smart and hardly do not have the equipment to put out a solar panel fire.

[56:39] And then another thing is the poll drivers that they will be driving into the ground,

[56:44] using to drive the polls into the ground are not going to be at his decimals that he's

[56:49] saying they're going to be a lot louder for those that live a lot closer and there's

[56:54] a lot of older people and there's a lot of people that have health problems including myself

[57:00] that I don't want to hear a bang and all that and see all that and there is a report

[57:07] at least supposed to be an eagle that lives on that area on that property and there's supposed

[57:16] to be an endangered plant as well on that property and another kind of animal I cannot

[57:22] remember this is you know things that we have all been looking at furthermore the property

[57:28] is own agricultural conservative conservation I'm sorry conservation each one of those

[57:36] properties have been sold, they are allowed to build on it, but anything build on it, which

[57:42] pertains to being anything on there must have a 412 pitch.

[57:48] That is in everybody that owns property on that road's deed from the original owner that

[57:55] sold them.

[57:56] I reached searched it, I checked.

[57:59] And yes, it is on that property too, because they buy or bought it from the same people

[58:03] that everybody else on that road bought it from.

[58:08] Just as there are not allowed to have mobile homes or travel trailers to be living in,

[58:13] they're not allowed to do that.

[58:15] Furthermore, cutting grass twice a year, pounds that allow, we're not allowed to do that

[58:21] out of our homes.

[58:22] Don't care if there's a fence around our property.

[58:25] There's still county guidelines that says it can't be a certain spot, certain height, I'm

[58:31] sorry.

[58:33] So, I, for one, am highly against this, I don't want to see more formal land wasted in

[58:40] Delaware.

[58:41] It's bad enough, every time you turn around, there's a spent land, they're putting a house on it.

[58:45] Now they're putting solar panels on them.

[58:48] And I have seen them, and if you want to see what solar panels look like, rust out, they do

[58:53] rust out, especially the older ones I had seen, they're a terrible site to see.

[58:58] All the stuff that had to be tear it out from under the ground to get rid of him as terrible.

[59:03] And how do I notice when I bought my home, the owner, I bought it from had solar panels in the ground.

[59:09] He was a German engineer that had bought the property and he put big solar panels there to help with his home.

[59:16] When they were removed, there was all kinds of piping and everything else all under that ground.

[59:23] So now, you know, we can't, nothing wants to really grow on it, even the grass doesn't want

[59:27] to grow right on it.

[59:31] And yes, I understand things are going more modern, they're better, but also the solar panels

[59:35] from what I read also have a powder that's on them, that when it's heated, there are new

[59:41] solar panel, it comes off, it can cause lung cancer.

[59:51] Thank you, man.

[59:51] Thank you.

[59:52] Thank you very much.

[59:54] Thank you for your comments.

[59:55] Is there anyone else here to like to speak against this application?

[59:59] Man, you can use it.

[1:00:00] You can actually use this podium over here, unless you want to use the map.

[1:00:08] Give us your name and address, and you can be sworn or affirmed.

[1:00:11] Molly Tolbert, 2123, you shall as corner road.

[1:00:17] And I'll also wait for your name, please.

[1:00:20] Hi, I'm Katie Tolbert, 2123, shall as corner road.

[1:00:24] Great, thank you. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony will give tonight is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

[1:00:29] Yes, sir.

[1:00:30] Thank you.

[1:00:31] I actually live in the house, one of the houses right across from the solar farm.

[1:00:38] I'm 19, a lot of people here have at least 20 years on me.

[1:00:42] And this is something that's extremely important to me.

[1:00:45] I moved with my family here in 2020 when I was 13 from South Philadelphia,

[1:00:50] which everybody knows very big difference between Philadelphia and little Clayton Delaware.

[1:00:57] And I'd never understood how big of an impact that moving here would have on me at 13 years old.

[1:01:05] I've witnessed 24 season changes across the road from me.

[1:01:09] I weigh that my omission neighbors as they ride by because their properties are on both sides of the solar farm.

[1:01:16] And he did mention that Delmarva customers have 10% or whatever it is.

[1:01:21] The English don't use electricity, how does it benefit them and they live on both sides of

[1:01:27] this solar farm that has no use to them?

[1:01:30] But everything that's going on has me mirilized that it's very easy to take for granted

[1:01:35] what you see every day.

[1:01:36] I watched the sunrise over the field and then I watched it set every day.

[1:01:40] I used to come out before school and I would wait for the bus and I would see deer across

[1:01:45] the street and one of my neighbors did mention animals we have endangered species.

[1:01:50] I've seen one or butterflies who are endangered.

[1:01:54] Try to call it bats.

[1:01:55] We see them almost every night.

[1:01:56] They're endangered deer like I said across the street.

[1:01:59] There's thousands of birds that live in those trees.

[1:02:01] I've seen bald eagles who are, you can't destroy their habitat.

[1:02:08] It's just that this isn't an isolated piece of property.

[1:02:12] The proposed development would be surrounded on all four sides of my houses and communities.

[1:02:16] There's at least three people across the street.

[1:02:18] There's me and two other people.

[1:02:19] So there's on the shelves on both sides of the solar farm and there's a whole community

[1:02:23] right behind it.

[1:02:24] And it's a big fire hazard, my dad will touch on that, but it's just the land, it's not

[1:02:32] vacant.

[1:02:32] It's farmland.

[1:02:33] All years I've been here, it's produced crops, and this proposal would just fundamentally

[1:02:37] destroy everything that I've watched these past six years.

[1:02:41] And another issue that I run into, I haven't dealt with in myself, but my mom has, is

[1:02:46] trust.

[1:02:47] Throughout the entirety of this process, a lot of us have been left with unanswered questions

[1:02:51] from these people and then a lot of information has been really difficult to obtain.

[1:02:57] When a project of this scale and this risk, which is very risky, is being proposed with

[1:03:02] indirect vicinity of people's homes, then transparency shouldn't be something that we have

[1:03:06] to fight for.

[1:03:08] They chose to build in a residential area and this is kind of what they have to deal with

[1:03:13] because we have to deal with these solar farms.

[1:03:15] Once they build that, that's it.

[1:03:16] They don't have to deal with it.

[1:03:18] Everybody else that lives on that road has to deal with that.

[1:03:23] But we can pursue renewable energy

[1:03:25] without believing that every piece of land

[1:03:26] is an acceptable sacrifice.

[1:03:29] There's hundreds of other locations in Delaware

[1:03:31] that they can build this on, that there are,

[1:03:33] and at least 50 people living on this road.

[1:03:36] They could build it anywhere else.

[1:03:39] Because I want people to take a look

[1:03:41] and consider the location and the farmland

[1:03:43] and the habitats that would be destroyed,

[1:03:46] and just consider what we can't replace

[1:03:49] once this land's gone.

[1:03:52] So I just would ask that you reject a proposal

[1:03:55] and respect the community and the habitats

[1:03:58] in the farmland because I want people

[1:04:00] to be able to enjoy what I've been able to enjoy

[1:04:02] for the past six years that come after me.

[1:04:05] Thank you.

[1:04:07] Are you very much?

[1:04:16] No, thanks a lot, Lizard.

[1:04:20] You have something to add, Mom?

[1:04:22] Yes.

[1:04:22] Yeah, I just want my husband here with me if you don't mind.

[1:04:24] Okay.

[1:04:25] If he speaks, remember, you've got five minutes.

[1:04:28] Yes, sir.

[1:04:29] My name's Mitch Tolbert.

[1:04:30] I live at 21-23 Shals Corner Road.

[1:04:33] Sir, do you swear or affirm the testimony you're giving?

[1:04:35] Tonight is the truth to hold truth and nothing but the truth?

[1:04:38] Yes, sir, I do.

[1:04:39] Thank you.

[1:04:41] And I wasn't going to get up here because I really didn't want to speak.

[1:04:44] I really don't want to be in this position.

[1:04:46] they put me in this position and I really feel like it's important for me to be here not only to

[1:04:53] fight for my property but to fight for my Amish neighbors who I think are honestly really for lack of a better

[1:05:00] We're being railroaded in this whole thing. It's honestly terrible. The proposal is terrible. What they're doing is terrible and how they're treating us is terrible. And the plan is a cute little plan, but this is what they gave us.

[1:05:14] And they failed to mention that there's all kinds of homes right around it. This is a landlock parcel with six or seven homes and woods on the other side.

[1:05:29] So basically, this would be what it would look like.

[1:05:34] So these are our homes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 over here.

[1:05:39] It's a gigantic fire hazard, literally four steps from my mailbox.

[1:05:46] And I've been researching this.

[1:05:47] I've done about 100 hours of research.

[1:05:50] I'm really ultimately trying to give them the benefit of it out and figure out what's really going on here.

[1:05:55] and this is what I found.

[1:05:58] Months have been spent collecting information

[1:05:59] and researching to inform our community

[1:06:01] of what is going on in a meaningful way.

[1:06:04] Quick facts, Delaware receives about 4.2 to 4.6

[1:06:07] on hours per day on average.

[1:06:09] Like most states in the Northeast,

[1:06:11] we have very long dark winners.

[1:06:13] We're act nationally for solar irradiance,

[1:06:15] which is their measure of the solar power of the panels.

[1:06:18] 29 to 34 out of 50 states.

[1:06:23] What they're going to put there is 8,000,

[1:06:25] 325 Genko panels made in Shanghai, China, which operated about 22% efficiency.

[1:06:33] My question to the leavey court would be, are these valid reasons for the destruction

[1:06:37] of irreplaceable prime farmland?

[1:06:40] And would you like this project 200 feet or less from your home?

[1:06:45] Preferred solar farm locations typically include brownfields, formal industrial sites,

[1:06:49] polluted parcels. Newcastle East, a solar farm that is almost operational, that is almost

[1:06:55] operational, is on polluted land, which is reasonable. This is not. Most commercial solar

[1:07:00] farms are located in wide open spaces with nothing around them, basically in the middle of

[1:07:05] nowhere, or near large businesses like rural farms. The parcel they seek is in a general,

[1:07:10] is a largely generational farming community, and landlocked on three sides by five to six

[1:07:15] other properties. Why? Show us, quote or wrote, is an easy money site for them. It's flat

[1:07:20] and has electric poles and lines already to go. They will also be allowed to access

[1:07:26] poles on adjacent properties via Delmarve of Power. These companies attempt to go through

[1:07:30] small town boards, expecting minimal resistance or neighbor input to get approved at that point

[1:07:35] it cannot be stopped. The goal is to reason the land for 50 plus years in their favor

[1:07:40] against the wishes of local residents, including those mere feet from the site.

[1:07:44] Ask yourself why, when nobody has bothered these places for decades and now solar companies

[1:07:49] are pulling into driveways, 10 trucks deep, trying to make land deals and obtain leases.

[1:07:54] It has been incentivized.

[1:07:56] Large solar companies in their project managers will only provide limited information to the

[1:08:00] public.

[1:08:00] Their goal is to act like this is no big thing.

[1:08:04] What they won't tell you about land leases.

[1:08:06] The claim we do not destroy farmland is untrue.

[1:08:09] The land will never be usable again or available for producing food in our lifetimes and possibly

[1:08:13] our childrens. The posts for the solar panels are piled

[1:08:16] driven anywhere from 4 to 13 feet into the ground all over the site.

[1:08:21] Most solar farm landlies have spent 50 years or more. This site will forever be locked into

[1:08:26] a complex corporate contract with a big company with zero ties to our area and our way of life.

[1:08:33] If the current landowner wants to sell, the lease has to go with it.

[1:08:37] With residential solar companies going bankrupt in record numbers, this is a serious concern.

[1:08:41] It may take years with commercial solar can follow.

[1:08:45] Out of state and possibly foreign companies will become operational feet from our homes

[1:08:49] and on our road if there is no pushback.

[1:08:51] Solar power, solar panels, loose power, and can leak into the ground over time with our

[1:08:56] wells located not far away.

[1:08:58] Solar farms also create a potentially catastrophic fire hazard for the area simply by their

[1:09:02] presence.

[1:09:03] The land will be out of commission for decades and there is a very good chance these

[1:09:06] companies can become in solvent down the line and who do we deal with then?

[1:09:10] Residents, Amish, have sought to purchase it to continue farming, but are being iced out in favor of big developers.

[1:09:19] Standard solar is owned by Brookfield Renewable, a major global Renewable Energy Platform.

[1:09:25] They create various LLCs for each solar project, making it very hard to understand their ownership structure.

[1:09:33] Our concerns.

[1:09:34] Our road in homes will now become an active construction zone for six plus months.

[1:09:39] They said it would be non-invasive, and possibly longer due to delays in bed weather.

[1:09:43] With piles driving lasting four plus weeks or more, with the same delays noted above.

[1:09:47] The noise alone will be a major interference to everyone around it.

[1:09:51] Shaw's Quener Road has many neighbors, including those who are elderly,

[1:09:54] homage, first responders.

[1:09:56] Night shift workers have chronic illnesses, et cetera.

[1:09:59] Most of us live here.

[1:10:00] For the why of beauty and quaint way of life, our community provides. Our wildlife and pets. Please keep in mind

[1:10:06] our own pets in local wildlife. We do not know or fully understand their level of hearing or perception and can only imagine what this will do to them.

[1:10:14] Federally protected, boldly goes in danger, try color bats and almost extinct monarch butterflies were all found on site.

[1:10:21] But dismiss is being an honest issue and will not stop the job. The site will have high chain link fence to protect the soul or infrastructure.

[1:10:29] Decimating local ecosystems habitats and animal populations with continuous use of herbicides to purposely

[1:10:35] wipe out everything below the panels in order to protect their investment at all costs.

[1:10:39] Man, are you about done? You're five minutes is up.

[1:10:42] Oh, um, yes.

[1:10:45] I know I'll be putting that to you.

[1:10:47] Yeah. Sorry. If you have, like I said, your five minutes is up, so I'd have to hold you to that.

[1:10:52] Okay.

[1:10:52] Unless he wants to say something, he can have five minutes, too.

[1:10:55] Yeah, I went on a little longer than I thought. Thank you.

[1:11:01] Thank you.

[1:11:02] Sorry I had to stop her with you understand with the five minutes how it is.

[1:11:06] You can please understand.

[1:11:07] So go right ahead.

[1:11:08] You have five minutes starting now.

[1:11:10] So in 2019 I were her returned home from the Middle East and wanted to find a better life.

[1:11:17] I wanted to get my family out of the city.

[1:11:20] We searched and searched and we found this house and fell in love with everything about it.

[1:11:25] The neighbors of the best I've ever had, the peace and quiet for my family and myself, is,

[1:11:31] it can't be measured. I'm about to leave again and be gone for six plus months to leave my family

[1:11:39] behind to have to deal with this mess. To touch on what my daughter said about the fire hazard,

[1:11:46] solar fires, EV fires, anything to do with that are extremely dangerous. The only response that we have

[1:11:52] is hardly has a 2,500 gallon tanker and Smurma has a 6,000 gallon tanker.

[1:11:58] 8,500 gallons from a 2,000 gallon per minute deck gun off an engine gives you 4.25 minutes of firefighting.

[1:12:05] How are they going to fill those tankers? There is no local water source close enough to get those trucks back and forth in any amount of time.

[1:12:13] Before they can even touch that fire, the power has to be secured.

[1:12:15] So what's the more of us response time to shut the power down so we can actually put water on a fire?

[1:12:22] For context, I'm a firefighter with the 166 airlift wing in Newcastle County.

[1:12:28] Been doing that for quite some time and love every bit of it.

[1:12:32] So that is a major concern to me between smoke hazards, electric hazards, and water to the site if needed.

[1:12:40] Now one of the things that really upset me is when my wife had a meeting with him on our front porch

[1:12:45] and she was emotional at the end of it, she told him we will fight it, and the response

[1:12:50] was you're dealing with billion dollar companies here and while you can try, you can't win.

[1:12:55] Well, I spent a life of service. I'm 16 years in the military, back and forth between the army

[1:13:01] and the Air Force. So I'm going to do what I'm trying to do, and for myself, for my family,

[1:13:06] and my neighbors. I'm going to fight this. That's all I have to say.

[1:13:13] Thank you, Sarah, and we certainly

[1:13:14] Thank you for your service. I appreciate that very much because Mr. Davis and myself are both firefighters

[1:13:21] And we'd better Rick and me with the felt and fire companies. Thank you for your Mr. Mill. I think Mr. Mills has something he wants to ask you. Yes, sir.

[1:13:28] Yeah, I've read an article about green these articles on a solar panels and it was one and I think it was in Texas. Somebody's where it calls are

[1:13:38] And it was so toxic they couldn't get it put out. So I'm just wondering when going back

[1:13:42] do the solar panel people they ask a question to them. What's the danger of these solar panels

[1:13:49] catching far and they put in all toxic streams? Thank you sir. Appreciate your comments.

[1:13:57] Appreciate it.

[1:14:02] Mr. Garvey, you want to say something to this gentleman or can he sit down?

[1:14:06] Actually, yes, it's not an opposition. I actually, I appreciate your family's commitment

[1:14:14] who's standing up for what you believe in and making the presentations that you've made.

[1:14:20] And I also respect your service having served myself too.

[1:14:23] I just want to point out something that one of the things that I think sometimes gets overlooked

[1:14:30] is that the bigger part of your problem here and when you're talking about fighting it is your art legislators.

[1:14:38] We're not legislators.

[1:14:40] We can only make a decision based on codes and whether it conforms to them or doesn't

[1:14:46] conform to them.

[1:14:47] Sometimes we get a little bit of latitude of working the edges and the fringes of some of these

[1:14:52] issues other than that.

[1:14:53] Sometimes our hands are tied.

[1:14:55] But it's the legislative body that makes a lot of this.

[1:15:00] That you're arguing about tonight possible. And the one thing that I just want to bring to your attention is that three days ago, our governor of the state, but forth the proposal happened to a solar. And in that proposal, they were advocating for more community solar projects.

[1:15:19] They were advocating for batteries that would be put on homes and solar panels to be put on roofs.

[1:15:25] So, this is a legislative body of this state that is actually going in both feet on this thing.

[1:15:32] And that ties our hands when it comes to anything that we might be able to do to mitigate these things.

[1:15:38] So, when you're looking at where the battle lies, it isn't actually with us, we do the best we can.

[1:15:45] The battle lies with our legislators.

[1:15:47] Yes, sir.

[1:15:47] Thank you.

[1:15:48] And thank you for your service, sir.

[1:15:51] Thank you again.

[1:15:51] Thank you.

[1:15:52] Is anybody else here, but like to speak against this project?

[1:15:56] We already have a lot of letters on file here from a lot of people.

[1:16:00] So we already know how much dissent there is or that.

[1:16:03] I think there's a gentleman back here that probably

[1:16:05] needs no introduction, but he's going to come up.

[1:16:08] He probably wants to talk.

[1:16:09] Sir, I got my in over here first.

[1:16:13] Come on up, come on up, Dave.

[1:16:16] Yeah, come on up, Dave.

[1:16:21] OK, give us your name and address and you'll

[1:16:23] be sworn or firm.

[1:16:24] My name is Selby Gravener. I live at the 26-22 Sholes Corner Road.

[1:16:32] Sir, I'm just one minute. Sir, do you swear or firm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

[1:16:39] The whole truth and nothing about the truth.

[1:16:40] Why would I be here if I wasn't going on to?

[1:16:43] Thank you.

[1:16:47] I've been here before, not in front of you folks, but in front of the Levy Court.

[1:16:52] And, well, Brooks Banner, you know, he was a great man, he helped us a lot.

[1:17:01] All this gray area you see here, if it wouldn't for Brooks, that would be full of houses.

[1:17:11] There would have been over 300 houses in that gray area right there.

[1:17:16] At the end of the year line, I live five blocks up, and that's my property,

[1:17:26] and Norman Miller, he lives right there, and is never used on the other side of the line, we've got a nice road for families.

[1:17:43] and you've got to keep in mind is only a one-layer road and there's going to be a

[1:17:50] lot of traffic bringing pieces into this stuff and who's going to fix the road

[1:17:58] you know after you know everything could possibly be torn up. It a pretty good

[1:18:09] And that was one reason why we didn't want the development in there, because nobody was saying anything by fixing a road.

[1:18:21] They're one in the plan. And you've got to keep in mind, too, that we don't have a water on Charleston road.

[1:18:32] And that was another reason why the development got shut down because they weren't allowed

[1:18:40] to go down into the aquifer that was 300 feet deep.

[1:18:45] They were only allowed to go down 90 feet.

[1:18:48] And then we also didn't have a place for the sewage.

[1:18:53] And that's where that deep well injection come from when they started talking about putting

[1:18:59] development there. And I'm sure you all know what deep well injection is.

[1:19:06] It's a very question about that. Deep well injections were they just drilled two

[1:19:12] holes, 3,000 feet deep. And when you flush, that's where it goes. And we didn't

[1:19:20] want that on our road. And because what about the underground water? You know, nobody was

[1:19:27] about it. And they've tried to tear sholes corn and rode up more than once.

[1:19:36] And everybody

[1:19:37] along there has nice properties and has nice families. And we're lucky enough to have

[1:19:45] some extremely nice homage people live on our road. And you know, I just, you know, I

[1:19:54] No Dave, it owns the ground.

[1:19:58] Day by alert.

[1:19:59] Yeah.

[1:20:00] He's a wonderful man. He's a religious man. He's a wonderful man. And I'm not going to hate him if this goes through.

[1:20:09] But I'm not going to like him a lot either. But you know, Dave, you know, I understand why he wants to do it, because he's looking at for his family.

[1:20:20] And he needs the money first, Faber, and, you know, I wish Dave the best, and we need to stop and think about this on a family road, a one-layer road, and, you know, we need to do here, and so it's a proper thing to do.

[1:20:48] So, I got to say thank you, sir, for your comments, appreciate your presentation.

[1:20:57] Sir, come on up and give us your name and address and you can be sworn or affirmed.

[1:21:02] I'm Senator Dave Losson, my address is 2257, let's fill Road, Mayor Del Delaware.

[1:21:08] Senator, do you swear or affirm that the truth you are?

[1:21:10] The testimony you're about to give tonight is the truth, the whole truth and nothing about the truth.

[1:21:14] I do.

[1:21:16] I appreciate you opportunity to address this committee. It is really good to see faces that I know and have known for decades.

[1:21:25] Sarah, how are you? It's a shame it's come to this.

[1:21:33] But solar can exist without subsidies. If you'll ask these folks, how they're subsidized, you'll find that there's some kind of subsidy from government,

[1:21:43] that is helping build this. Solar cannot, wind cannot exist without government assistance.

[1:21:54] As far as the life of the project, I don't know how long the last but so far what I've heard and seen and read,

[1:22:01] is the life expectancy is about 25 to 30 years into the panel's breakdown. They reach into the soil.

[1:22:08] they destroy the soil to the point that nothing that grows on there can be consumed and that may include sheep, I don't know.

[1:22:18] I haven't seen that study, but Pennsylvania State University, or Penn State, put this out in quite a study as so did one of the North Carolina universities.

[1:22:35] It's a very picturesque road.

[1:22:42] The other places are quite well kept, and when you ride down Saw's Corner Road, it depicts Delaware.

[1:22:54] Solar rays, and I hate to call them farms because they don't grow a darn thing, solar

[1:23:00] rays don't help.

[1:23:03] They don't maintain Delaware.

[1:23:05] They destroy Delaware.

[1:23:07] And they destroy the land under them, they destroy the neighborhood around them, and particularly

[1:23:12] if they're the tilting time, as they said they are, that reflection is going to hit

[1:23:18] these homes nearby sooner or later.

[1:23:20] It must.

[1:23:21] There's no other way.

[1:23:24] It's under four megawatts.

[1:23:28] That's not a lot of electricity.

[1:23:33] Truly isn't.

[1:23:33] And it's going back into the grid.

[1:23:35] It goes back into PMJ, or PMJ, I think it's called, and then we buy it back from them

[1:23:42] through DPNL.

[1:23:46] It's generated here.

[1:23:49] And if you apply, you might get a 10% reduction in your bill,

[1:23:55] but the long term, the

[1:23:57] Costco higher and higher, because guess who's subsidizing, there's subsidies, we

[1:24:03] the taxpayers, all of us are. That's not, I mean, that's stealing from one pocket and

[1:24:10] shoving in in the other, but it's not your pocket. It's coming out of the people's pockets.

[1:24:18] I disagree with having this here. It is in a tranquil, very, very picturesque area, as I said,

[1:24:27] and there's no need to show these kind of things down the throats of the neighbors.

[1:24:35] One more

[1:24:35] thing about the construction.

[1:24:39] I'll miss kids walk on that road to go to school.

[1:24:43] There's going to be heavy equipment coming back and forth through there.

[1:24:47] There's horse and buggies on that road. Heavy equipment back and forth.

[1:24:50] If you see when a tractor and trailer does to a horse and buggie,

[1:24:56] or a truck are a car for that matter.

[1:25:00] This does not need to be here. It shouldn't be here, and I respectfully ask it to turn down this application for those reasons. I thank you all very much.

[1:25:15] Thank you Senator for being here. Thank you for your comments.

[1:25:19] I think Denise has a question for Sarah.

[1:25:25] When I think something that's been said is incorrect, I feel upset if I don't try to find out if I'm correct and saying it's wrong.

[1:25:36] So Sarah, I have a question for you with regards to the soil testing. Is it the soil testing every five years to ensure that there's no danger to the soil occurring?

[1:25:47] It certainly is to track whether or not there's any impact and then if there is then mitigating that impact.

[1:25:54] That's the intent.

[1:25:56] I guess.

[1:26:01] Is there anyone else here would like to speak at the mic and opposition to this application?

[1:26:08] Come right on.

[1:26:09] Give this your name and address.

[1:26:12] You could be sworn or affirmed.

[1:26:15] Hello, my name is Eileen Talley, and this is my husband Cabin Talley. We live at 2, 5, 9, 3 shows, corner road.

[1:26:24] We have lived here for one moment actions. Do you swear or firm that the testimony will give tonight is the truth, the whole truth and nothing about the truth?

[1:26:31] I do.

[1:26:32] Thank you.

[1:26:34] Good evening.

[1:26:35] I have lived here. We have lived here for 15 years now.

[1:26:38] We are both a small business owner and a small farmer who reside on shows.

[1:26:44] We oppose the proposed solar farm on our country road.

[1:26:49] We were kept in the dark on this project.

[1:26:52] It has been happening since apparently 2022.

[1:26:56] I feel that that is very undemocratic and is a portrayal

[1:27:01] of all of us, all of our neighbors.

[1:27:04] I'm not really privy to all of the zoning,

[1:27:07] but I understand that I guess there was conditional use.

[1:27:11] That was applied here.

[1:27:12] Because Kent County rules prohibit utility scale of solar farms, which I'm not really sure if this is considered a small scale solar project.

[1:27:21] I'm not very familiar with community scale projects, under strict limits.

[1:27:27] But it does not align with agricultural preservation goals or restrictions.

[1:27:33] The public notices were put up on August 18 on very small signs.

[1:27:38] So I'm sure there would have been many more people here tonight, but we were just not giving out a put notice.

[1:27:44] The only way we knew was by Mr. Torbett putting stuff in our mailboxes.

[1:27:49] And that was way as weak.

[1:27:51] I'm sure that's big solors intent as to not get any push back.

[1:27:55] They're taking our water, our air, farmland, wildlife, and natural resources at what cost to our neighbors.

[1:28:02] While big solar caches in, we the people of Charles Corner will suffer.

[1:28:06] be trade Delaware communities are being hunted for our land, the same industries that

[1:28:12] poison our air, threaten our water, and treat our communities like sacrifice zones.

[1:28:17] They extract the land, poison the water, and take our electricity.

[1:28:22] You kind of hit that there's a benefit of 10% to us that means nothing.

[1:28:29] When will we stand up and say enough is enough with these projects?

[1:28:33] The environmental impacts and health concerns of critical materials like heavy metals

[1:28:38] leaching into the ground potentially making the land non-farmable indefinitely while

[1:28:44] life displacement, dangers of the schools children walking on the road to school, groundwater

[1:28:49] depletion, the solar power irrigation and contamination of our well-waters, our property values

[1:28:56] will be affected by this. We moved here for peace and this is a direct violation of our rights

[1:29:02] to live on Shawl's corner peacefully.

[1:29:07] We don't know anything about the impact studies

[1:29:09] that have been done, the rush to the processes,

[1:29:12] the court, the politicians, they divide communities,

[1:29:16] they probably are gonna promise jobs,

[1:29:18] downplay pollution, and dismiss us residents.

[1:29:22] They tell us maybe it's a done deal,

[1:29:24] and expect us to be grateful for whatever damage

[1:29:26] they lead behind.

[1:29:28] They want us and our local governments out of the way.

[1:29:30] This is the future of our land, not just Steve Bylers, we are fighting for it affects all of the residents of Shaw's corner.

[1:29:39] We live here, not big solar.

[1:29:42] I respectfully and prayerfully urge for you to reject the proposed solar farm on our country road.

[1:29:51] Thank you, ma'am.

[1:29:54] Sir, if you want to say something to you, you want to be sworn in?

[1:29:57] Yes.

[1:29:58] He was sworn in same time.

[1:30:00] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. We'll go right ahead in five minutes. I'm here today to speak from my

[1:30:05] office neighbors, mostly to be their voice. I don't think that these guys understand the road we live on

[1:30:12] has approximately 30 homes on our road. As far as I know, our road is one of the only roads in our

[1:30:20] area that has Del Marba power, other than the lady that spoke from way till run. Everybody else around

[1:30:25] community as the co-op. So we're talking about maybe a couple hundred homes that would, you know,

[1:30:33] affect this, you know, community solar thing. And like I said on our road 30 of their starting

[1:30:39] homes and 15 of them homes are omnis which do not use power. So this community thing that says this

[1:30:46] is putting power back to the community, it's not helping us and our situation on our road. It's a shame

[1:30:54] that they try to take all this farm land that's good for our land.

[1:30:58] I'm a farmer that raises beef cows.

[1:31:02] I know you say that they do soil samples every five years to check.

[1:31:07] My question is, how far are we checking in the ground with these soil samples?

[1:31:12] Most of our wells on our road are less than a hundred feet deep.

[1:31:16] So, we're not checking our soil at or level of our well or our aquifers to see if we have contamination.

[1:31:26] Not sure what that process is or how far we go in the ground for these soil samples.

[1:31:32] But I would assure you that they're not deep enough to figure out how if our contamination is going into our aquifers.

[1:31:39] We're talking about having sheep on this land to manage it.

[1:31:45] Like I said, I raised beef cows.

[1:31:47] We eat that product.

[1:31:48] Everybody here, eats my beef.

[1:31:51] I don't know if that water that those cows are drinking

[1:31:53] is contaminated from this solar farm.

[1:31:57] So we definitely, this is something

[1:31:59] that we do not want or need on our route.

[1:32:02] Thank you for your time.

[1:32:04] Thank you for your presentation.

[1:32:05] Thank you, sir.

[1:32:09] I'd like to ask a show of hands.

[1:32:11] How many people here are actually opposed

[1:32:13] to this application?

[1:32:14] Could release your hands?

[1:32:17] Thank you all for not coming to Mike. I appreciate that because I know a lot of people are saying the same thing and I appreciate that too

[1:32:24] And I usually ask for a spokesman if the group is but if there's anybody else would like to come to the Mike and speak their opposition to this plan

[1:32:32] You're certainly welcome to

[1:32:34] We understand now that you are opposed and all like that and we understand from a number of opposition letters. We also understand that too

[1:32:43] So if there's nobody else, I ask one more time anybody nobody's come on to phone how they mark

[1:32:49] That's correct Mr. Chair. I'm still no members from the general public online. This is a last call. Is anybody else here like to speak?

[1:33:01] Deborah Calendrello 49 new phone call it

[1:33:05] Clayton

[1:33:06] Do you swear or firm the testimony you're about to provide is the truth the whole truth and nothing about the truth? I do

[1:33:11] Thank you

[1:33:12] all right. I have a question all these

[1:33:14] these solar panels. I guarantee you that they're going to come up with some kind of

[1:33:21] pollution in the air, some kind of toxins. You shake your head, no, but nobody's done really

[1:33:27] a lot of research on this stuff. You know, that the toxins in the air is going to affect

[1:33:33] everybody. And I can't, I can't believe that you're going to all say, yes, to this.

[1:33:44] It's just

[1:33:45] everybody's health is going to be, whether it's five years down the line or ten down, ten

[1:33:49] years down the line. People are going to be affected by these chemicals that these panels are

[1:33:55] going to give off. And that's all I have to say. Thank you, ma'am. Thank your presentation.

[1:34:04] seeing and I have no more anybody else this this is the last call no

[1:34:14] I'm sorry you can

[1:34:15] have me already spoken yeah but I can't come back up to the mic I can't allow that

[1:34:21] now I can't allow that man I'm asking you sit down please thank you thank you for

[1:34:30] respecting it one last call and then we're gonna go move on seeing no more hands I thank

[1:34:37] you all for your comments and everything like that, and we'll be taking this up next week.

[1:34:53] We're now down to any more public comment for anything.

[1:34:58] Seeing none, I'll go for commissioner.

[1:35:00] Does any commissioners have any comments?

[1:35:02] Yes, Paul Davis.

[1:35:05] Dr. Kiefer would be honored to present to us the new attorney we had tonight, the one that he is.

[1:35:13] Like the baby.

[1:35:16] Good evening. I have actually been here once before. It's been a while, though. My name is Michael Hoffman.

[1:35:22] I'm an attorney with kind of like that.

[1:35:24] That's all right.

[1:35:26] I'm going to turn with Connelly Gallagher.

[1:35:28] I will actually be sitting in on the RPC meetings going forward.

[1:35:33] We've divided and conquered on the meeting schedule.

[1:35:38] And I will be with you going forward.

[1:35:40] It's a look forward to seeing you all more.

[1:35:42] And I'll work with you.

[1:35:44] Thank you very much and welcome aboard.

[1:35:46] Yeah, thank you for being here.

[1:35:47] We didn't meet you up tonight, but we'll probably get you into the play.

[1:35:50] I think D.D. has a question for somebody.

[1:35:55] I'm just curious.

[1:35:59] We only have a limited number of acres, where are we at this point?

[1:36:08] So far we have 265 acres approved, which leaves just over 1,300 available.

[1:36:20] 1300 more available remaining to be developed so that's 1300 plus what we've already

[1:36:28] approved is what you said. Okay I think Mr. Davis has a question. Sir I see the

[1:36:35] the holy cross deals coming up next week. I understand there's no public comment

[1:36:42] allowed on that, could you explain to the Commission why that is?

[1:36:47] It's not unusual, it's just like any other non-residential use that's permitted by right.

[1:36:51] It's the site plan that comes to you all at a business meeting.

[1:36:56] It's what now you have to run that bung again.

[1:36:58] It is a site plan, non-residential, that comes to you at a business meeting because it is permitted

[1:37:05] as a matter of right.

[1:37:08] Okay. Thank you. The question came about why in any public comment on it. That's why yes. Thank you very much.

[1:37:16] I know when we do those statements. I still have the abilities to bring people to the mic if I like to correct.

[1:37:22] You are welcome to ask them questions. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you very much.

[1:37:28] Any other commissioners have any comments? Seeing none. I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

[1:37:36] of second I have a motion in a second. Sarah call the commission. Mr. Peter

[1:37:44] Man with your Mr. Saravan. Yes to adjourn. Mr. Carcher. Yes to adjourn. Mr.

[1:37:49] Mr. Mills. Yes to adjourn. Mr. Davis. Yes to adjourn. Yes to adjourn. Yes to adjourn. Thank you all

[1:37:57] and we'll see you next week.

Regional Planning Commission Public Hearing

Agenda

Transcript