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Lansing passed  a Solar and Wind Energy Law last July that set rules for constructing small to moderate sized solar farms, while also meeting the Town's comprehensive plan goal of protecting farmland, especially in the north of the Town.  Around that time Governor Cuomo took a virtually unprecedented step to supersede local laws where large solar installations are concerned.  Essentially if you want to build a very large solar installation the State determines where to put it, whether a municipality wants it there or not.  Tompkins County Legislator (Lansing) Mike Sigler told the Town Planning Board Monday that towns will have some input into the process after all, and asked them to amend the current law or recommend a new law for the Town Board to pass that will better protect local residents who live adjacent to a potential large solar installation.

"Even the farm Bureau says these aren't solar farms. This is a solar city that we're building in the town," Sigler said. "And it's not going to be just one. It's not going to just be a thousand acres. You can put 400 megawatts on that (existing) power line. Well that's four 2000 acre parcels that could be built in the Town of Lansing that would send power out. And we would see really, we would see a tax benefit, obviously, but we wouldn't see lower power prices. We wouldn't see any of those things."


"We just had a seminar on Article 23 that says that there are some things that we may be able to steer or direct or ask for, but basically the Governor has seen to it that his brag that we're going to be at net zero on carbon by 2035. This is his way of getting it there," said Planning Board member Larry Sharpsteen.

Sigler said he is approaching the Board as a citizen, rather than as County Legislator.  he told them he is aware of three companies who are considering leasing between 1,000 and 2,000 acres to install contiguous solar panels.  He pointed out that 2,000 acres is equivalent to two Ithaca-Tompkins International Airports that would be placed along power lines that cut a swath across the town from the now closed Cayuga Power Plant to easternmost Lansing.

"Granted, people are going say the state has taken over sighting for that. They're going to run it through ORES (New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting) -- they're going to run it at the state level. But I was in a meeting today and we were talking about it and  they're saying they're going to follow whatever local laws are on the books that are reasonable," he said. "So the idea here is they're going to listen to you, as a planning board, and the town board, when it comes to things like setbacks, when it comes to things like pollinators, like you put in the other law, but those laws are going to have to have those things out in front of you personally."

Sigler suggested a law should include things like minimum setbacks, berms, and other measures that would create a visual buffer between what could be more than three square miles of solar panels and private residences.  He said that the latest information about state citing of such solar installations suggests that local laws with provisions like that would likely be considered reasonable by ORES.

"Is it NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard), a little bit, but I don't really see the problem with that," Sigler said. "I mean, that's why we elect people to the Town Board who are from the Town. We don't go to people from Dryden to make law in Lansing. It's the same thing with the Planning Board here. All of you live here, you're from here. So there should be a little bit of self protection on the town level."

Before deciding to act on Sigler's suggestion the Planning Board asked Town Board members who were present whether they would be open to amending or creating a new law.

"I think we'd have to," said Councilman Doug Dake. "In light of this new thing that Mike brought forward tonight I think we ought look into it, for sure."

Lansing Director of Planning C.J. Randall said the Office of Renewable Energy Siting has until April, 2021 to hold four public hearings throughout the state, some virtual and some in-person. She also signed up the Town as a interested entity for the stakeholder forum. Sigler said he would be attending the Rochester hearing.

Planning Board Chair Gerry Caward charged a subcommittee made up of Al Fiorille, Dean Shea, and Sharpsteen to research the issue and bring information back to the next Planning Board meeting.

"We've got more hope now than we did six months ago about having input on the situation. But they've got the final say I say, yeah, go ahead. If the, if the Town Board would look on that favorably let's let's suggest some changes," Sharpsteen said.


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