There were two hearings before Kidder Township held supervisors on May 12. The first was about changing the zoning of more than 300 acres along Route 940 from residential to commercial. The second was about a proposed change in the zoning ordinance to add new rules on large solar power development.

For the first hearing, landowners Blue Ridge Real Estate ask to change the property’s zoning to allow it to be developed for commercial use. There is no proposed use, though BRRE mentioned it could accommodate one warehouse, with the rest of the site undisturbed. The land is between Route 940 and Interstate 80 from Moseywood Road and extends west to the new warehouse property. There are a lot of wetlands on the land.

Residents who spoke were mostly opposed to the change. Many spoke about preserving the township’s natural resources.

Anthony Giavannone asked, “What is the advantage? We’re a resort community.”

Fred Maurer expressed concerns about there being “so many trucks.”

Mark Peterson quipped that “the Kidder Township seal doesn’t have a truck on it.”

Township solicitor Robert Yurchak used a pause in the testimony to point out there is no project for this property. The hearing is about the zoning change, not the potential use.

Dave Schena pointed out that BRRE has seen the regrowth of the forests on their lands. He observed that the property is in the middle of a commercial area.

Some residents spoke twice. Beth Hurley, who had spoken first, finished the session with the comment, “there’s no coming back.”

The second hearing was for residents to comment on a change to the township’s zoning ordinance to regulate large-scale solar electric generating projects. David Weightman of Cypress Creek Renewables, developer of the proposed 60 megawatt project that could be built on an isolated tract in western Kidder Township, explained that his group has been doing studies of the site.

“We’re still years away” from construction, and promised to host more community meetings. He notes that the township ordinance allows a solar farm as a permitted use on the site. He finished by explaining that the use is for 40 years, after which the site will be reforested.

The ordinance proposes to change the defined use within the zone from permitted to conditional. Changes would require a minimum of 500 acres for such a project, that such a project must have an electricity transmission line through it and be no more than 2 miles from a substation, and the developer put into place financial security to ensure the property is restored after the solar farm is decommissioned.

Ten residents spoke, nearly all opposed. Most objected to having the developer take all the trees. Some noted that the project would contribute very little in taxes over the 40 years the solar panels would be in place. Comments started to go off in various directions and supervisors worked to keep the statements on topic. Supervisor Wilson Klotzman tried to explain that the proposed ordinance adds some rules to an already permitted use.

Yurchak explained that “no municipality can bar (solar generation projects, but can) strictly regulate solar power. You have to provide a location. This is the first step in a long, long road.”

Comments continued to speak against the idea of the project rather than the ordinance), leading to the hearing being closed.

Supervisors placed both changes onto their May 24 meeting agenda.