Sunpin Energy Services, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Petersham

The Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed the Land Court’s judgment upholding the denial by the Zoning Board of Appeals of Petersham of a special permit for a large-scale solar energy system on rural private property. Approval of the permit required a unanimous vote by the three-member board. Although two members voted to approve the special permit application, the third member voted against it, citing, among other factors, its incompatibility with the State’s energy policy, as embodied in the State’s Clean Energy Results Questions & Answers Ground Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Systems and the Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, which the board member concluded discouraged siting of solar projects in forests where significant tree cutting is required. The Appeals Court found that the denial was “contrary to the legislative goal of promoting solar energy and rested primarily on the subjective beliefs of one board member” and found that the board exceeded its discretionary powers when it concluded that maintaining forest land was preferable to solar energy development.