Wareham Planning Board set for final vote Nov. 9 on Fearing Hill Road solar after a court remand

WAREHAM Wareham's Planning Board is set to make a final decision Monday, Nov. 9, on a solar array off Fearing Hill Road that a court sent back to the board for a revised ruling.

The item is a continued public hearing for Wareham MA3, LLC at 91 and 101 Fearing Hill Road, listed for "review and discussion of revised decision following court remand; final decision and authorize signing." The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Room 520 of the Multi-Service Center, 48 Marion Road, with an online option.

The vote would be the board's final decision on a project that has been before town boards since at least 2022, when the Conservation Commission turned it down. The site sits across the street from homes on Fearing Hill Road.

What the project is

The plan would put about 18 acres of solar panels on a site of about 44 acres of undeveloped woodland, and building it would require clear-cutting, The Wareham Week reported in June 2024.

The Conservation Commission denied the project on Nov. 16, 2022, saying it would harm nearby wetlands, vegetation and wildlife, the Week reported. The developer appealed to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which sent the question to the Massachusetts Historical Commission. After an archaeological survey that included 80 test beds, the Historical Commission found no historic or archaeological material on the site, and on May 10, 2024, the state agency overturned the town commission's denial. The commission did not challenge that ruling, according to the Week.

When the project came back to the Planning Board that June, Chair Mike King said any denial would have to rest on facts that could hold up in court. "It can't be a matter of, 'It's the right thing to do,' that's not how we're able to proceed," King said, as quoted by the Week. Colleen Malone, who lives across the street, told the board, "This is going in in the middle of a residential development."

What state law allows

Massachusetts zoning law bars towns from prohibiting or unreasonably regulating solar energy systems except where needed to protect public health, safety or welfare (General Laws chapter 40A, section 3). Board member Carl Schultz said in 2024 that "the law is the only thing we are allowed to consider," the Week reported.

Other solar developers have taken the board to Land Court. New Leaf Energy and Solar 1 appealed after the board denied extensions for Charge Pond Road arrays first approved in 2020, and Entero appealed the denial of its application, the Week reported in February 2025. Town Counsel Richard Bowen said then that the "burden of proof" had shifted from developers to local boards.

More solar and site plans ahead

The same agenda lists a request to continue the hearing on a solar site plan at 320 County Road. The board's schedule sets that hearing, for Parallel Products Solar Energy, for Monday, Nov. 23, with a decision due by Jan. 22, 2027. A site plan from G.F. Crown Petroleum Inc. for 447 Onset Ave. is also set for Nov. 23, and one from R.J. Motto Inc. for 5 Tow Road is set for Monday, Dec. 14.

How to watch

The meeting is open to the public in person and online, and the online connection is on the agenda in the town's Agenda Center. The Planning and Community Development office is at Memorial Town Hall, 54 Marion Road, 508-291-3100, ext. 6500.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.