Dear community members,

A private company owns densely forested property in the town of Lexington that is adjacent to three neighborhoods in Waltham off Trapelo Road on the Lincoln-Lexington line. The developer is slated to build a large-scale ground mounted solar power plant that requires cutting down 800 mature trees (approximately 9 acres of dense forest) and eliminating a significant wildlife habitat, which goes against the recommendations of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources for new solar systems, large and small.

It is, in general, possible for solar power plants to be made safe and free from threatening public health and safety. The current plan for this plant, however, falls far short of that. We need citizens to demand that the Lexington Planning Board levy requirements to protect public health and safety, as the MA law allows. The issues/actions we are petitioning are:

• An automatic emergency sprinkler system around the entire 9.3 acres
• Power lines bringing the electricity to the utility substation should not go through the adjacent neighborhood, but should instead be affixed to the existing high power line utility poles that already exist on the proposed site
• An independent team of wildlife experts needs to be hired by Lexington and funded by the developer to assess the risks and to come up with a plan to eliminate them or significantly lessen harm to people and wildlife.
• Take out an effective insurance policy to cover homes within 1000 feet of the site.
• Maintain any planted trees
• Use Data Drive (a commercial road) that leads right up to the commercial side of its vast amount of land. 
• Restrict construction hours to 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday
• 200 foot setback from residential property lines.

On our website https://walthamneighborsforsafesolar.org/, you can learn more about environmental and safety concerns as well as ways to help. 

We are hopeful that with all of your signatures to this NEW petition, to be presented to the Lexington Planning Board, they will be more motivated by the actual wording of the law and their duty to uphold it, and do what we all know is actually “necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare.” 
 

Thank you so much for your ongoing support.

Best,

Waltham Neighbors for Safe Solar.