With the extension of the federal investment tax credit and a new state Clean Energy Standard on the horizon, developers have been scanning Google Earth and cold-calling landowners in the Mid-Hudson region with offers to lease their land. It is critical that landowners and municipalities are prepared to make well-informed decisions to maximize the potential benefits to climate, the property owner, and the community, while minimizing unintended costs and risks.
Join us for an informational forum, co-sponsored by the Ulster County Climate Smart Committee, CLP and others, to gather legal, tax, and zoning information for landowners and municipal officials, so that they can make more informed decisions about siting solar farms on their properties and in their communities.
Video of the event:
AGENDA
Welcome: Jen Metzger, Rosendale Councilwoman and Co-Director of Citizens for Local Power (CLP).
Overview: Steve Mogel, Esq., an attorney from Sullivan County with expertise in large-scale solar lease issues.
Update on Zoning and Related Issues: David Church, AICP, Commissioner of Planning, Orange County, and Meister Consulting
Tax Implications: Thomas Jackson, Director of Ulster County Real Property Tax Service Agency, and Michael Dunham, Assessor, Towns of Rosendale, Marbletown and Rochester.
Alternatives to Solar Lease Offers; Community Solar, DRG, etc.: Susan Gillespie, President of the Board, CLP
Q & A Panel: With all presenters, plus Dick Riseling of Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development. Moderated by Ulster County Legislator Manna Jo Greene, Chairman of Ulster County Climate Smart Committee.
Sponsors: Ulster County Climate Smart Committee, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Citizens for Local Power, Hudson Valley Regional Council Sustainability Committee Energy Working Group, Orange County Planning Department, Rondout Valley Growers Association, Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Hudson Valley, Ulster County Planning Department, Ulster County Real Property Tax Service Agency, and the Ulster County Association of Town Supervisors and Mayors.
