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Politics & Government

Revised Hind & Fore Application Receives Board Approval

Reduced solar array and an altered parking plan reflect the board's concerns.

With a revised application that addressed the board’s concerns effectively, Ed De Stefano returned to the zoning board July 26 and received the OK to move forward with changes at the .

When representatives of Hind & Fore, a specialty meat store on Route 28 and Vista Road, , board members expressed concern about several elements of the proposal, including the proposed construction of an 18-foot-high solar array mounted on steel columns, and reducing the number of parking spaces.

The revised application—according to Francis P. Linnus, De Stefano’s attorney—reduces the square footage of the solar array by 34 percent and its height from 18 feet to 7 feet. The applicant also increased the number of parking spaces from 9 to 13.

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Additional changes included paving the entrance parking lot, removing and replacing all accessory buildings, relocating the compressor and enclosing the array within a fence.

A new element was the addition of roof-mounted panels to half of the butcher shop roof to compensate for any coverage that might be lost due to the lower solar array. With this American-made version of the panels, it was estimated that about 75 percent of the site’s power would be generated by solar power.

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David Zimmerman, planner for Hind & Fore, explained that the applicant was motivated by two main things: installing a solar renewable energy program to assist economically in the operation of the butcher shop and significantly upgrading the property.

Landscaping, he noted, would “unify and be an aesthetic appeal to the building and make it visually compatible to the neighborhood and the area it’s in.” The solar panels, Zimmerman added, would “not be visible to the public or the neighbors.”

Board member Donald Sweeney called the revised plan “a terrific application. The positives clearly outweigh any negative aspects.”

Sweeney thanked the applicant for his diligent efforts to address the variances.

Fellow board member Carl Schulz also applauded De Stefano for “addressing the board’s concerns so effectively.”

The variances and site plan application were approved with several conditions by unanimous votes of the seven members in attendance.

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