The Planning Board will hold a public hearing Jan. 6 on a proposed solar zoning district which would confine all future largescale solar development to a designated area.

The zoning restriction would not apply to any “at-will” solar installations such as those on the roofs of homes or businesses but would affect all future large scale ground-mounted solar arrays that require approval by the Planning Board.

At the January hearing, the public will see two proposed sizes for the solar district. The first is the existing business development overlay district, which covers an area from Charlotte Furnace Road in the west to Farm-to-Market Road in the east, bordered by Interstate 495 to the south and the town line to the north. The second proposal extends the eastern boundary to Charge Pond Road but limits that section's southern border to Route 25 and excludes Crane Landing subdivision.

The business development overlay district currently has a number of solar installations and Land Use Coordinator Josh Faherty said the zone is already intended for businesses that the town has determined are not suitable for residential or standard commercial areas.

The solar district requires approval from the Attorney General and Faherty explained that the proposal includes the second larger designated area to align with what the town anticipates the Attorney General will want.

“The state is really pushing solar anywhere and everywhere,” Faherty said.

Cranberry bogs fill a large portion of the land in the proposed district but Faherty said cranberry bogs and solar can be a “compatible dual-use” endeavor.

Faherty referenced a bog in Carver which currently has a solar array under construction.

“I’ve talked to a few farmers who have said solar over blueberries have created a higher yield of blueberries so their logic is the same thing with cranberry bogs,” Faherty said.

Following the public hearing the Planning and Select Board will hear the proposal before it potentially makes its way to the Spring Town Meeting.

“Our stance is this is better than what our current restrictions are, because there are none,” Faherty said. “Given the couple solar projects we have now that were pretty contentious I think the town would really be in favor of this new solar district.”