ELKTON â The solar farm planned for a small parcel of farmland in Colora has been withdrawn by the applicant, according to the Cecil County Office of Land Use and Development.
Stephen OâConnor, acting director, said the application from Alder Energy and John and Marcia Harnish was withdrawn Tuesday, hours after the Cecil County Planning Commission voted to deny a special exception needed to build the 6,630-panel array on the land zoned for Northern Agricultural Residential.
This came after more than three hours of testimony before the commission that preceded the unanimous vote Monday night to deny a request from a South Carolina company and a Pennsylvania property owner to construct a large scale solar generation station in and area surrounded by some 50 houses in Colora.
By Jane Bellmyer
jbellmyer@cecilwhig.com Apr 20, 2021
Jane Bellmyer / CECIL WHIG PHOTO BY JANE BELLMYER
Stephanie Peterson painted this call to action sign in late
February to warn neighbors about the proposed solar farm. Peterson
and her neighbors spent hours testifying Monday night, then heard
Tuesday the project has been withdrawn.
ELKTON â The solar farm planned for a small parcel of farmland in Colora has been withdrawn by the applicant, according to the Cecil County Office of Land Use and Development.
Stephen OâConnor, acting director, said the application from Alder Energy and John and Marcia Harnish was withdrawn Tuesday, hours after the Cecil County Planning Commission voted to deny a special exception needed to build the 6,630-panel array on the land zoned for Northern Agricultural Residential.
Many Charlestown residents present at the meeting opposed the rezoning.
âThis type of rezoning, quite frankly, will push this historic stretch of Route 7, which was the Old Post Road traveled by George Washington, to really nothing but a heavy industrial trucking route,â said Suzanne Fockler, a member of the Charleston Historic District Commission.
Richard Polansky, president of EJP, LLC., is requesting the county to rezone 34.1 acres from general business to heavy industrial zoning on 875 West Old Philadelphia Road in North East. He withdrew a previous request to rezone 9.4 acres from suburban transition to heavy industrial to expand his recycling company Complete Recycling Group. The two companies made a joint application for rezoning, according to Cecil County Public Information Officer Kevin Alkinburg.