DAMASCUS, PA — A solar array developer has filed in court after Damascus Township rejected its application.

Supervisors at their February 20 meeting said the law firm of Chariton & Malak, representing Tyler Hill Solar 1, filed the papers, and that a hearing was scheduled. They said the township had rejected Tyler Hill’s application because it was incomplete. 

Attorney Jeffrey Malak, representing Tyler Hill Solar 1, was included on the agenda but did not attend.

Ed Lagarenne, the township’s zoning and code enforcement officer, said six or more items were left blank or were only partially completed. The application did not include letters from the power company attesting to their knowledge of the project, he said. It also lacked a stormwater management plan, which is required for all new structures in the township.

The Damascus Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance lays out all the requirements for this type of application.

A stormwater plan would summarize how the developer plans to handle runoff, erosion, and sedimentation. This can typically be addressed by including a letter or memo from the Wayne County Conservation District, which is available to help create a plan.

Another member of the board said applications should not be submitted piecemeal, and that the solar company is welcome to re-apply. The developers want to build a 5-megawatt AC fixed-tilt solar panel system on a meadow off Cochecton Turnpike with the capacity to power nearly 1,000 homes. The proposed alterations include a permanent gravel driveway, a temporary construction driveway, solar-panel racking foundations, and an eight-foot-high security fence around the solar field.

In related business, supervisors plan to revisit the extension proposed for the LaBella/Honesdale Solar project, which has the same owners as Tyler Hill, at their May 20 meeting.