Planning commission recommends lot consolidation for Buck Harbor community solar

Pocomoke City planning commissioners on Wednesday recommended approval of a lot consolidation and preliminary site review for Buck Harbor Solar, a proposed community solar facility at 1124 Ocean Highway.

The applicant’s consultant, Kevin Hastings, senior associate with Becker Morgan Group, told the commission the two parcels will be combined into a single 67.97‑acre parcel and that about 10.51 acres will be developed for solar arrays. Hastings said the facility is expected to be between one and two megawatts, which triggers different paperwork with the state public utility authorities if the capacity exceeds two megawatts.

The proposal has obtained a wetlands permit, Hastings said, and conforms to the town’s B‑2 district setbacks and the state renewable‑energy requirements referenced during the presentation. Commissioners and the applicant discussed a discrepancy in the acreage printed on the application; the consultant confirmed the consolidated total as 67.97 acres before the commission moved to recommend approval.

Commissioners questioned project operations and local impacts. Hastings described the installation as a community solar project whose output goes into the regional grid (Delmarva Power area) and is offered to subscribers, with outreach to low‑ and moderate‑income customers. He said the site will use single‑axis trackers and a pollinator‑friendly meadow seed mix beneath arrays; landscape buffers of up to 35 feet (or 50 feet where existing woody vegetation dictates) will be provided. Stormwater calculations submitted with the plan indicate no net increase in runoff, the applicant said, and the design uses nonstructural stormwater treatment rather than new bioretention ponds.

A commissioner asked who will maintain the stormwater measures; Hastings said the developer has submitted a stormwater management report and that routine maintenance will mainly be mowing the meadow, two or three times per year, and occasional site visits for upkeep.

The commission’s recommendation is advisory; staff noted the applicant will still need to coordinate final access approvals with the State Highway Administration and complete any required filings with the Public Utility Commission if the project’s rated capacity triggers additional regulatory review. The commission’s motion to recommend the consolidation and site plan carried by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Next steps include final plan submission and any state permitting or utility interconnection approvals required before construction can begin.