BOSTON — The Northfield Planning Board has filed its response to BlueWave Solar’s appeal of the denial of a special permit for a second proposed solar array on Pine Meadow Road, with the board denying all allegations and calling upon the solar company to prove its claims, according to documents filed in Land Court on Tuesday.

In December, the Planning Board denied BlueWave Solar’s application for a 2.29-megawatt agrivoltaic solar array on a 16.1-acre parcel of land on Pine Meadow Road due to flooding concerns, potential decreased property values and the project’s misalignment with Northfield’s rural character. The company previously gained approval in 2021 to construct a three-array, 26,000-panel, 10.9-megawatt project on the same road.

The company alleged that the Planning Board exceeded its authority in denying the permit, lacked expertise in flood mitigation and that any reasons cited in the board’s decision were “insufficient as a matter of law to support the denial of a special permit.” BlueWave Solar also stated the denial “exceeded the board’s authority, was based on a legally untenable ground, [and] was arbitrary and capricious.”

The Planning Board, through documents filed by Town Counsel Jeffrey Blake, stated it “performed all duties required of them in good faith and in reasonable belief that they were acting in compliance with regular laws” and requested the company’s complaint be “dismissed for failure to state a cause of action upon which relief may be granted.”

“The Planning Board acted at all times relevant hereto in good faith and within its authority under the Northfield zoning bylaw and its statutory authority under the Zoning Act, G.L. c. 40A et seq,” the board’s response states, referring to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40A. “The decision is reasonable and a lawful exercise of the Planning Board’s discretion and authority.”

The board, in its decision, cited what its members saw as the solar project’s potential dangers to the neighborhood and natural resources in the area due to its proximity to the Connecticut River.

“The benefits do not outweigh the hazards. Installing hazardous materials within a floodplain, and an overflow area utilized by FirstLight Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station for flooding with water and debris, presents too great a danger to the community members that live within the area,” the Planning Board’s decision reads. “It could potentially destroy, through debris or contamination, sensitive habitat and prime farmland that the installation would be occupying. Once that area is contaminated, it cannot be reclaimed.”

BlueWave Solar has requested that Judge Kevin T. Smith declare the Planning Board overstepped its authority, annul the decision, issue the special permit without sending the matter back to the Planning Board and award costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees to the applicant.

Throughout the Planning Board’s response, it either refers to its special permit denial document, town bylaws, the Master Plan or consultant reports; or denies allegations made by BlueWave. The statements the board admits to are largely procedural steps taken throughout the hearing process, although it does push back on line 82, in which BlueWave Solar asserts the array, as a dual-use agrivoltaic project, “by definition continues to utilize the subject property for farming purposes.”

“Admitted farming will continue on the property,” the Planning Board’s response states, “but the property will be used for the commercial generation of electricity.”

A case management conference has been set for Tuesday, March 25, at 9 a.m.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.