STOP JOHNSTON SOLAR: ‘The land … will never recover in our lifetime’

Dear Fellow Johnston Residents,

The Johnston Zoning Board is again considering an application from Green Development to install more than 47,000 solar panels on 150 acres of woodlands, natural habitat, and former farmland along Winsor Avenue, Hopkins Avenue and Rollingwood Drive. This land is zoned for residential use and should not be used for this industrial purpose.

This solar project, known as Winsor III, along with four other projects encompassing over 320 acres (about the size of the Johnston Landfill) and over 111,000 panels were rejected by only ONE VOTE last year and there is no guarantee the Zoning Board will again deny the Special Use Permit. Green Development is counting on poor attendance and minimal opposition at this public hearing so the destruction can begin and the four other projects will likely follow soon after.

This application takes vacant residentially zoned land in Johnston, wipes out green space, and blankets the ground with solar panels. The proposed solar installation is vast and will have a devastating impact on the land that will never recover in our lifetime. If you agree that solar panels belong on rooftops and land zoned for industrial and commercial purposes ONLY and NOT on land intended for residential use, please attend the Zoning Board meeting on Nov. 2 at the Johnston Senior Center, 1291 Hartford Ave., at 6:30 p.m.

Thank you in advance for your opposition to industrial solar development in residential areas and your support for the preservation of Johnston’s quality of life; we pay more than our fair share of taxes, so the Town must take our concerns into account and deny this project. We look forward to your attendance at this very important public hearing.

Thank you from your Johnston neighbors, 

Stop Johnston Solar

Editor’s Note: Stop Johnston Solar is a group of Johnston residents formed in opposition to a proposed industrial-scale solar field planned for a wooded neighborhood currently zoned for residential development. The group is looking for more members. Contact the organization at StopJohnstonSolar@gmail.com.