Patuxent Greens GC in Laurel, Md. is seeking a zoning-ordinance amendment to install 12,000 sq. ft. of the energy-saving devices, but nearby residents have expressed concerns about how they will look, as well as the potential for added noise.
Residents who live near Patuxent Greens Golf Club in Laurel, Md., have raised concerns about the club’s plan to install 12,000 sq. ft. of solar panels, The Gazette of Gaithersburg, Md. reported.
The club wants to install the panels to cut back on energy costs, The Gazette reported, and is seeking an amendment to the city’s current zoning ordinance, which allows panels on residential properties, to also apply to non-residential land.
After Patuxent learned of the zoning requirement in late August, The Gazette reported, Matthew Tedesco, an attorney representing the course said at a Laurel City Council meeting in late September, the club began the process of notifying residents of its plans within seven days. “[Patuxent has gone] above and beyond trying to be good corporate neighbors,” Tedesco said.
But the meeting also drew the presence of seven residents at the nearby Villages at Greens and its Patuxent Condominium Association, The Gazette reported, who expressed concerns to the city council about how the panels would look as well as potential additional noise from their operation. The residents also said they were upset with the timing of how they were being notified of the club’s plan.
Jennifer and Leonard Johnson said they bought their two-story condominium overlooking Patuxent Greens two years ago, so they could sit on their deck and watch deer graze on the green, The Gazette reported. “This was supposed to be our retirement home,” Jennifer Johnson, 61, told the Council. Installation of the panels, she added, would create “an eyesore and bring our property value down.”
Resident Kevin Allen, 38, said that when golf course officials presented the project during a meeting with residents on September 11, they did not share many details about their plans or discuss examples of similar projects, The Gazette reported.
“I’ve never seen a solar array of that size so close to a residential area,” said Allen. “It’s a huge unknown.”
Tedesco told the Council that the golf course had looked into finding other locations for the panels, The Gazette reported, but none were feasible because they would either be in a flood plain or would have required clear-cutting of a large number of trees.
During the meeting, Laurel Mayor Craig Moe encouraged residents and representatives of the golf course to continue discussion of the project, The Gazette noted, and added that solar panels are something the city should look into.
“This is not a done deal,” Moe said. “I think this is something that we should look at from the text amendment standpoint.”
Tedesco said he had already reached out to the residents after the meeting to set up a future meeting, The Gazette reported. “We have [been], and continue to be willing to meet and address comments and concerns,” Tedesco said.
A second public hearing on the issue has been scheduled for October 15.
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