Board presses solar firm on battery location, setbacks

Planning Board · Meeting of October 27, 2026

CARVER — The Carver Planning Board continued a contested solar canopy hearing and shelved a parking liability bylaw. Attorney Michael Minow presented Parallel Products Solar Energy LLC's plan for 188 solar canopies totaling 11 megawatts over existing parking at the King Richard's Faire site, but board members, including Clerk Curtis Lake, objected to a requested waiver reducing the standard 200-foot setback to 50 feet and to battery storage sited near an abutting parcel. The board voted unanimously to continue that hearing to December 8 and scheduled a November 14 site visit.

Members also voted unanimously to indefinitely suspend a police-department-backed bylaw requiring liability insurance for residents who rent yard space for event parking, after Pine Street residents like Carrie Santos and Patty Maloney said the draft unfairly targeted people helping disabled fairgoers. Town Planner Sean Lewis presented a proposed 40R Smart Growth Overlay District that could bring $350,000 in state incentive payments plus $3,000 per housing unit, up to $1.2 million, with one board member calling it the option that "sucks the least" compared to a state-driven 40B alternative. That hearing was continued to November 10.

In the full story:

• Parallel Products Solar Energy Special Permit and Site Plan Review
• Temporary Event Parking Zoning Bylaw Amendment
• Proposed Chapter 40R Smart Growth Overlay District
• Administrative Items
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,420 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.