Planning Commission Green-Lights Novato Solar Farm

The Marin County Planning commission on Monday narrowly approved a proposed Novato-area solar farm development that was six years in the making in a vote that did nothing to tamp down the heated land-use controversy, the Marin Independent Journal reports.

Opponents of the proposal, who say the 1-acre solar farm will be an eyesore and imperil wildlife promised to appeal the planning commission's 4-3 vote on Monday.

The proposed $1.6 million solar farm would produce an estimated 664 kilowatts of green energy, making it the county's second biggest renewable energy plant behind the 972-kilowatt Marin Clean Energy plant, the IJ reports.

The 16 rows of 25-by 100-foot nonreflective panels would sit on a the 20-acre Green Point Nursery at the corner of Atherton and Olive Avenues in the outskirts of Novato. A five-foot fence would enclose the panels.

A leading critic of the proposal blasted the commission for skirting the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Marin Audubon Society President Barbara Salzman told the IJ her group will appeal the commission's ruling to the Board of Supervisors.

"I think it was a shallow evaluation of the impacts and certainly not in the public interest to bypass CEQA," she told the IJ.

Lisa Balestreri, a member of the family that owns the nursery, is quoted in the IJ saying the proposal “will help Marin to reach its goal of using more renewable energy.”

Do you think opponents of the proposed Novato solar farm raise legitimate issues, or are their arguments purely NIMBY-based? Please share your views with us in our comments section.