The prospect of a large commercial solar farm in a residential area of town continues to rankle neighbors, frustrate a developer waiting for a decision since March, and divide a
There’s no red-carpet welcome for a major commercial solar project in a residential area — at least not yet. The Zoning Board of Appeals posed some tough questions to developer Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. at Wednesday’s initial hearing on an application seeking a variance from town zoning bylaws. It’s proposed for 383 Housatonic St., near the Lenox Dale industrial zone. But nearly all of the property is in the 1-acre residential zone. And the town’s bylaws rule out a solar array in that homeowner zone next to the Mountain View Cemetery, one of the town’s three burial grounds.