Ansonia P&Z Chairman Kenneth Moffat asks questions during the commission's Oct. 28 meeting.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Planning & Zoning Commission rejected a site plan proposed for a solar farm on Hill Street, citing a lack of relevant zoning regulations.
Ecos Energy, operating under the name Vineyard Sky Farms Corporation, proposed a 0.99-megawatt facility to be located at 135 Hill St. The address is next to 31 Benz St., where the company is in the process of constructing another, separate solar farm.
Both addresses are in the residentially zoned Hilltop neighborhood, where some residents – and members of Mayor David Cassetti’s administration – have voiced opposition to the solar projects. Ecos owns the land at the two addresses.
In the meeting, commission members said the city’s regulations only lay out rules for accessory solar arrays – that is, solar panels that aren’t the property’s main use. The neighboring Benz Street farm has a house on the property, but the proposed Hill Street farm does not.
Because there’s nothing on free-standing solar farms, commission members said, they were unable to approve the application.
“We now do have regulations for solar arrays that are accessory to residential properties. But we don’t have regulations specifically for a solar array that is the primary or principal use of the property,” P&Z consultant David Elder said.
Elder said the company could ask the commission to change the language in the zoning regulations. If the commission agreed to do so, the company could propose the site plan again.
Elder said solar farms are usually not the jurisdiction of local land use boards. Solar farms fall under the jurisdiction of the Connecticut Siting Council, the same group that decides where cell towers are placed.
Rodney Galton, an engineer from Ecos Energy, said it’s because the proposal is for a 0.99-megawatt facility. The state only gets involved for proposals that are more than one megawatt, he said.
Commissioner Jared Heon made the motion to deny the application, citing the regulation issue.
“I don’t think this should be accepted, it’s my opinion, because we do not have a regulation that allows for the principal use of a property to be a solar farm,” Heon said.
Galton told the commission that Ecos would consider proposing a zoning amendment.
Permits Issued For Benz Street Solar Farm
After several years of wrangling, Ansonia officials issued building and electrical permits for the Benz Street solar project on Aug. 9 and Sept. 12, according to permit records.
The solar farm on Benz Street initially won approval from the state’s siting council in June of 2021.
Allco Renewable Energy, the parent company of Ecos, took the City of Ansonia to court in 2023.
They said that the city was making it impossible for them to build the farm by refusing to tie them into stormwater connections. The city denied that allegation.
The two parties reached an agreement in September 2023 where, in exchange for the city allowing the farm to go ahead, the developers would pay $40,000 to the city, plus another $15,000 annually for ten years.
The Ansonia Board of Aldermen voted in February to redistribute the initial $40,000 payment to nearby residents.
Ansonia GIS
The map above shows the locations of Ecos’ proposed solar facilities in the Hilltop neighborhood.
The large white plot in the middle is 135 Hill St., which the planning and zoning commission discussed on Oct. 28. The large gray plot to its right is 31 Benz St., where Ecos plans to build solar panels producing about 1.99 megawatts.
