Proposed 18-foot Solar Array Raises Eyebrows

The zoning board’s concerns about proposed changes—including an 18-foot-high solar array—to a township butcher shop led the applicant to request a postponement June 7 to give him time to redesign the application.

Representatives of , a specialty meat store on Route 28 and Vista Road, appeared before the board requesting site plan and variance approval for the expansion of a nonconforming use that included the addition of solar panels and the reorganization of the site.

Hind & Fore has been at the location for 49 years, and Ed De Stefano has been the owner and operator for 34 years.

De Stefano sought the board’s OK to build an 18-foot high solar array mounted on steel columns. The height, the applicant’s experts testified, was necessary to clear existing buildings.

“I’m looking for ways to be more efficient and cut costs,” said De Stefano, who estimated that the solar array could reduce his electric bills by 75 percent. “I think it’s great for business. I think it’s great for the economy. It’s part of our national interest to become an independent nation when it comes to power.”

“I’ve got a real problem with 18-foot panels,” said board member Donald Sweeney. “I can’t think of a better way to give solar a black eye than to build something like this.”

Board member Jay Rosen agreed.

“The aesthetic appeal to everyone around is going to be such a negative,” he said.

“It’s pretty clear to me that this 18-foot array isn’t going to happen,” said board member James Scott.

Lowering the panels could “reduce the efficiency of the panels,” said engineer Fred Missel, of E2/ECTA, a Hillsborough-based company that designs and installs solar systems.

Several board members suggested possible alternatives, including mounting the solar array at a lower height, on the ground or on the roofs of the existing buildings.

As part of the site reorganization, the applicant was also seeking to eliminate the existing septic system and connect to the township's sanitary main; add two trash enclosures; and reduce the number of parking spaces, which also concerned board members.

With four part-time employees, De Stefano said, nine spaces would be sufficient since business has changed and today’s customers come in to pick up orders which have previously been called in. He added the customers often park on Vista Road and that he has an agreement with Raritan Plaza that allows employees to park there, if necessary.

Francis Linnus, De Stefano’s attorney, requested the opportunity to revise the plan to “take into account the board’s concerns over the design.”

The hearing will be continued at the board’s July 19 meeting.