Green Development Settles with Coventry Over Solar Facility
By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
The Coventry Department of Planning & Development issued Mark DePasquale two cease-and-desist orders in June 2019 for commencing the construction of a proposed ground-mounted solar facility in western Coventry without town approval. (Kevin LaRose/YouTube)
The town and a litigious renewable-energy developer have resolved their
differences and are moving forward with a disputed ground-mounted solar
facility.
The
agreement will allow Green Development LLC to build a proposed ground-mounted
solar project in western Coventry, and the town will receive $802,000. All
claims and lawsuits instigated by either party have been dropped. The agreement
also includes a mutual understanding by each party not to sue or participate in
future litigation.
“I’m
pleased to report we have resolved all ongoing disputes with Green Development
without the costly burden of going to court,” Town Council president Kerry
McGee is quoted as saying in a press release sent by Green Development. “The
settlement is fair for all parties and it allows the town to move forward and
secure a new revenue stream along the way.”
The
saga of the originally proposed 5.22-megawatt solar array began in late 2016,
when the North Kingstown-based developer was cited for destroying wetlands at
the proposed project site.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) issued a cease-and-desist order to stop all activities within freshwater wetlands on the property. A visit by DEM two months later found additional damage to wetlands. In all, nearly 2 acres of wetlands had been cleared, stumped, excavated, filled, and graded.
Mark
DePasquale, the founder of Green Development, was fined $40,000 by DEM
for the damage.
In
late November 2017, the Planning Commission deemed the project inconsistent
with the town’s comprehensive plan and denied the application.
The
committee found that the parcels at 394 Carr’s Trail and 5641 Flat River Road
detracted from efforts to preserve the rural and agricultural character of the
low-density residential zone. The Zoning Board of Review also ruled against the
application, citing that the large commercial project caused fragmentation and
was unsuitable for the area.
In
January 2018, DEM’s Office of Water Resources issued a permit for a
ground-mounted solar array for two lots at the 107-acre site. The project,
however, never received local approval.
DePasquale
appealed the town’s ruling to Kent County Superior Court in May 2018. Judge
Jeffrey Lanphear affirmed the town’s decision on Aug. 7, 2019.
DePasquale,
however, didn’t heed the town’s decision, and before the judge’s ruling went
ahead with initial construction of the solar array. The unapproved work
involved the use of a pile driver to install a field of steel posts.
In
early June 2019, the town’s Department of Planning & Development issued a cease-and-desist order
for the unauthorized installation and ordered DePasquale to remove hundreds of
steel pile posts. The steel posts were allowed to stay after the town issued a second order that
required DePasquale to halt all work on the property except landscape and
cleanup activities.
DePasquale
then sued Coventry for $85 million for allegedly denying and stymieing his
company’s solar projects.
DePasquale
also filed a $200 million lawsuit in March
against the town of Exeter for the loss of potential revenue as a result of
town officials rejecting Green Development solar projects. That lawsuit is
ongoing.
In
a separate case, the court sided with Exeter
on April 20 over an appeal of a decision by the town to reject a 7-acre solar
facility proposed by Green Development.
Retired
Rhode Island Supreme Court chief justice Frank Williams mediated the recent
settlement with Coventry.
Edward
Warzycha, Coventry’s interim town manager, didn’t respond to multiple requests
for information about the settlement, including how the money will be received
and spent.
While
the town will not oppose the permitting of the now 3.75-megwatt solar facility,
McGee said the project must still go through a detailed and thorough review.
“All
permitting has been and will be conducted in a professional and timely manner
with our statutes and ordinances as the guide,” she said. “We will fully
embrace all elements of this agreement and are glad to be able to secure a
major financial boost for the town.”
The
original site plan
for the solar project was paired with a therapy farm that would serve people
with special needs.
Green
Development spokesperson Bill Fischer said the the Coventry settlement should
influence an outcome with Exeter.
“We
remain hopeful that officials in Exeter will see how productive and efficient
the Coventry mediation process was for all concerned parties and consider the
same path,” he said.
