Plympton Planning Board Continues Solar Hearing, Orders Stormwater Review

PLYMPTON -- July 15, 2025, Plympton Planning Board opens hearing on third Brook Street solar project, hears flooding and gravel complaints from cranberry farmer neighbor. The board took up a site plan approval application from Brook Street Phase 3 Solar LLC, represented by Zachary Farkas of Free Wild Renewables, for a 5-megawatt ground-mounted photovoltaic array with battery storage on 15 fenced acres of the 103-acre Vopat family property at 0 Brook Street, the third solar installation on the site since 2016. Board member Robert Cohen recused himself. Kim LaFleur of Mayflower Cranberries, whose bogs and main farm reservoir directly abut the project, told the board that a public records request confirmed no permits were issued for what she estimated as hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of gravel removed from the site, that she had witnessed heavy tree-clearing equipment operating there in recent years, and that stormwater from the cleared land and access road is already flooding her cranberry operation. Farkas acknowledged the existing infiltration basin between the first two phases is underperforming and said Phase 3 plans include additional stormwater features, proposing to "overbuild" controls to remedy existing problems. The Plympton Fire Department submitted a written request that the project comply with 527 CMR Chapter 11 Section 11.12.4.1, requiring 10-foot clearances around solar panels for fire suppression access. The board continued the hearing unanimously to August 5 at 6:30 p.m., where consulting engineer John Chessia will present his peer review findings in person, and scheduled a public site walk for August 23 at 10 a.m.