A proposal for a 120,000-kilowatt solar farm in the Sables-Spanish Rivers Township has not been received with open arms by citizens.
Claudine Bichette, a local realtor and long-time resident, presented council with an online and hard copy petition with some 1,600 signatures saying no to the development proposed by Potentia, a Montreal-based company back in August.
She says there are many concerns including the protection of agricultural land, the natural habitat, especially wildlife, protection of the underground aquifers and the lack of economic development or jobs with allowing a large-scale solar farm.
Another presenter, Gary Vermeer, a local farmer, says he is concerned about how outdated the land use plan is and that land designated as rural under the Official Plan, which was passed in 2010, should be re-evaluated and be considered agricultural land.
Mayor Kevin Burke says the proposed project falls within all the regulations as designated by the province and it is the province that has the control as to whether the project is approved or not.
He also emphasized if citizens fight the project when it meets all legal requirements, the township could face a lawsuit, adding the proposal is at the very early stages and there will be more public consultation.
Council agreed to accept the petition and forward it to the company, and suggested citizens contact the company and the province directly if they are adamant about fighting the project.
It was also suggested they consider legal representation to fight the proposal.
Bichette’s presentation: file:///C:/Users/CJJMEdit/Desktop/Presentation%20to%20council.pdf
Photos: Council chambers were full at this week’s meeting of Sables-Spanish Rivers Township council meeting with many there to show their dissent on seeing a large-scale solar farm constructed in the township. Realtor and long-time resident, Claudine Bichette, made a detailed presentation as to why the farm is not a good investment, followed by Gary Vermeer who would like to see the classification of local lands changed from rural to agricultural land.
