A developer filed an appeal of Ransom Twp. supervisors’ decision to reject plans for a solar farm on township-owned land.
Attorneys Richard Williams and Tara Giarratano filed a notice June 13 on behalf of Pivot Energy in Lackawanna County Court.
The supervisors voted earlier this month to deny the Denver-based company’s request for conditional use to build 6,550 solar modules on 18 acres of a nearly 300-acre parcel at Ransom and Lower Narrows roads. Residents opposed the proposed solar farm, concerned about its impact on the township’s character, their property values, the environment and wildlife in the area.
In their decision, the supervisors said the proposal doesn’t comply with adjoining development, would impact the area’s rural nature and harm property values. They also stated that Pivot failed to provide evidence about the anticipated glare from the facility and how the farm’s potential effects on area properties and public roads would be controlled.
The attorneys argue in the appeal that the township and the objectors didn’t present evidence that Pivot didn’t meet the requirements in the zoning ordinance for the proposed conditional use and that the property’s use as a solar farm would substantially affect the community’s health, safety and welfare.
They said the supervisors’ decision relied on the objectors’ complaints that the proposed solar farm is incompatible with the area and impacts adjacent properties and property values. The applicant must only prove compliance with specific, objective criteria set in the zoning ordinance, the attorneys said.
They said the supervisors could not deny the application just because it might be incompatible with neighboring properties.
The attorneys further stated that evidence cited by the supervisors in support of their denial doesn’t demonstrate a high probability that the use would affect the community’s health, safety and welfare.
“A concern for scenic beauty or of an aesthetic nature is not a sufficient basis for the denial of a conditional use application,” they wrote.
The attorneys state that the board abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law by denying the application.
Township zoning allows for a solar energy facility as a conditional use in the agricultural zoning district, in which the property is located, they state.
The attorneys point to testimony given by the developers that shows the proposed solar farm complies with township ordinances, with a 20-foot-wide gated access road restricting entry into the facility and a stormwater management system. It would also not produce solid waste and would have a decommissioning plan in place.
The attorneys claim none of the testimony presented by Pivot was refuted or contradicted.
Township supervisors approved a lease with the developer in 2019 for the property, which the township has owned since 2008. The township and Pivot, operating as Elk Development LLC, signed a memorandum of lease in December 2023, recorded with the Lackawanna County recorder of deeds in February 2024. The lease allowed the developer to operate the solar farm for 20 years with the option for two 10-year extensions.
The attorneys are asking the court to reverse the supervisors’ decision and award further relief as it deems necessary.