Petition calls on Lansing to reduce solar farm impact

Lansing resident Mike Sigler is concerned.

“I don’t want what amounts to a 12-foot-high, 48-million-square-foot building 100 feet from my property,” Sigler said.

He is referring to CS Energy’s 160-megawatt, 1,000- to 1,300-acre Yellow Barn Solar Energy Facility planned for the area around Van Ostrand and Buck roads in Lansing and Groton.

The facility is one of three solar energy production projects proposed for the town of Lansing. SPower has laid out a 100- to 200-megawatt field near the deactivated Cayuga Power Plant in Lake Ridge, while Nexamp has planned a 36-acre, 6.7-megawatt solar farm on Jerry Smith Road near the intersection with Dates Road.

Project sites are laid along the large power transmission lines running from the Cayuga Power Plant to the main grid, an existing connection to customers with 400 megawatts of latent capacity, Sigler said.

The Lansing Town Council recently voted to write letters of support to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on behalf of the SPower and CS Energy proposals.

That’s moving a little too fast, according to Sigler.

“I am not asking for a moratorium,” he said. “There’s not much the town can do to stop this. However, the state has told the towns that they will abide by [town] rules as long as they are reasonable. So, if they are going to abide by reasonable rules, let’s make reasonable rules.”

Sigler created a petition supporting solar power generally but calling on the Town Planning Board to “enact regulations pertaining to these arrays that will cover millions of square feet, including prime farmland.”

“While we may prefer these installations not be built, we at least want the town to mitigate the negative impacts on adjacent properties and to the overall look of the town of Lansing,” he said.

Sigler is the Lansing representative to the Tompkins County Legislature but wants to be clear that these actions are being taken as a private citizen.

The online version of the petition (https://tinyurl.com/y4hyac3p) had 80 signatures as of Oct. 26. Sigler is also going door to door in the affected area to inform residents and ask for their signatures.

Sigler said that the town considered the matter in an emergency meeting with little notice.

“There was a notice posted on the Town Hall door, but who goes to Town Hall these days?” he said. “They put a notice online, but it was not online until the morning of the meeting. I was up on Buck Road yesterday with the petition. I found people who live right next to the power lines, and this was the first time they had heard of it. They should know.”

Among the items that the petition calls for are 1,000-foot setbacks from existing residences.

“The setback for a cell tower is 1,000 feet,” Sigler said. “So, that’s been done before. That’s reasonable. Right now, the set back is 100 feet. I can throw a football that far.”

The petition also asks the Town Planning Board to consider nearby resident notification when land is being leased or optioned for lease, setting aside 20% of projects of more than 25 acres for pollinators, vegetation buffers and berms where appropriate, wildlife corridors, continued farming under the project where possible (e.g. pasturing) and avoiding using farmland that has had an agriculture tax exemption in the past 10 years.

Sigler plans to present the petition to the Town Planning Board as a show of support for his “reasonable rules.” He said that the Board is already thinking about the issue and believes that members will be receptive to the call to reduce the impact of the solar projects.

“The Finger Lakes are a rural setting where people go to wineries,” Sigler said. “We’ve spent 20 years creating this. Five-hundred-acre solar projects cut into that. The more we do to mitigate the visual impact of that, the better.”

In Brief:

Lansing Community Trunk or Treat

Lansing’s 4th Annual Trunk or Treat this year is Oct. 31 from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is happening with a few changes, but what won’t change is the fun, safe, community environment folks have come to love.

Biggest change: You must register your group for an arrival time to facilitate adequate space. And to help with space, the event has moved to Myers Park. Register for your time at lansingrec.recdesk.com/Community/Program. Guests need to wear face masks, and volunteers will be wearing gloves and face masks to help keep this event safe. Complete details can be found on the Lansing Community Trunk or Treat FB page, facebook.com/lansingcommunitytrunkortreat.

Calling Pumpkin Carvers of all Ages!

Show off your pumpkin carving skills at this year’s Lansing Community Trunk or Treat. Carved pumpkins may be dropped off at Lansing Community Parks and Rec Oct. 28 and 29 or at Asbury Church and East Shore Christian Fellowship on the 28th through the 30th, all during normal business hours.

All pumpkins will be on display for Trunk or Treat, and prizes will be awarded in all categories for crowd favorites. No “day of” drop-off. Questions? Contact Loveta Geesey at lovetageesey@gmail.com.

Want to know the winning trunks and pumpkins? Join them LIVE on our Lansing Community Trunk or Treat FB page (facebook.com/lansingcommunitytrunkortreat) at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 as they show off the winners!