Open Space Bedford

10/26/2021

[TONIGHT] The Village of Mount Kisco Planning Board is scheduled to hold a continuation of Public Hearings on Tuesday October 26 at 7:30 on both the proposed Solar Power Plant Application and Verizon Cell Tower Application at 180 S Bedford Rd., at the end of Sarles Street and 172. Link to the agenda and zoom link below. You may also attend in person. What happens to our neighbors in Mount Kisco also effects us here in Bedford.

05/25/2021

[TONIGHT] Both the solar and cell tower projects in the woods near Sarles Street and Marsh Sanctuary are back on the Mount Kisco Planning Board Agenda for Tuesday, May 25th.

7:30 PM
Join Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83233804675
Agenda: https://cms6.revize.com/revize/mountkisco/May%2025,%202021%20Final%20Agenda.pdf

Please share your concerns/opposition during public comment at the meeting. What happens in Mount Kisco effects Bedford too!

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05/19/2021

Zoning change rejected by Bedford's Town Board!
THANK YOU!!

05/18/2021

TONIGHT! Voice your opposition to changing our zoning laws at tonight's Bedford Town Board Meeting (7pm).

May 18 Town Board Meeting is confirmed to have zoning on the agenda. Green Street will present its petition to change town zoning to allow large-scale utility solar farms in residential areas. Such a change would only benefit developers. Utility solar does not need to be sited in Bedford in order for our town to use and promote renewable energy sources. Our open space is valuable to the environment, our property values, and our lives. If this change in zoning were to pass, we would lose our protections to stop any property in Bedford from leasing/selling its land to developers for utility solar farms.

Zoom Link:
https://zoom.us/j/94464347330?pwd=UURRVmFPZWhQWnI5N25zRXVPTnJkZz09

Agenda + other info (including Zoom Link again):
https://bedfordny.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/5.18.2021-Meeting-Agenda-rev5.pdf

05/17/2021

Tuesday MAY 18 is the Bedford Town Board Meeting. On the agenda is Green Street's request to change our zoning to allow for large scale utility solar developments in residential zones. This is a zoom meeting, starting at 7pm.

(This matter was supposed to be addressed at the last Town Board meeting but was postponed. We will let you know if we hear that it is to be postponed again)

05/17/2021

We are easy targets of "greenwashing". Words like "renewable" or "green" speak to our genuine desires to be responsible citizens, but this also makes these words effective marketing tools. Climate change is real and we need to transition away from fossil fuels. We all know this and understand the urgency to make changes. But the highest standard we can set for such efforts is to combat these issues while protecting the priceless value of our open spaces. We must not be coerced into sacrificing our open land to commercial solar developers, whose primary incentive is profit rather than the thoughtful integration of renewable energy in our community.

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/16/2021

The Money: Good business for developers is not good business for us – Efforts to build commercial solar farms are financial, and unfortunately certain areas of Bedford are perfect targets. Developers are financially motivated to build in districts with high electricity rates (ConEd) and low construction costs (open space). ConEd utility rates are $0.25 kWh, whereas NYSEG is half that amount with rates at $0.12 kWh. Developers like Green Street can make twice as much revenue by building in ConEd areas, while their cost remains the same. Developers will say that a limited group of residents may be eligible for a small discount on our electrical bill, but they don't tell us that these discounts are already offered to all of us through existing community solar programs. The town loses its open space in exchange for nothing substantive in return.

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/16/2021

"Community Solar" sounds local, but it isn't. Misleading statements have been made about community solar. "Community Solar" refers to 3rd party solar utilities that feed the electrical grid. Community Solar is just another type of ESCO (Energy Service Company), not a local program like a community garden. Locating commercial solar arrays within the community does not provide any benefit to Bedford's electrical supply and electrical resilience. Bedford's electricity is provided by New York State's robust electrical grid. Subscribers to community solar programs are merely funding the operations of a specified commercial solar array, the location of which could be anywhere in the utility district (for ConEd this includes New York City, and NYSEG includes upstate NY). Locating a solar power generator in our town will have no impact on our personal electricity.

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/14/2021

Use parking lots and rooftops for solar, not open space. The argument that we must sacrifice our open spaces to pursue solar energy is deeply flawed, and it unnecessarily pits conservationists and green energy advocates against each other. Bedford is already contributing to the transition towards renewable energy without converting our limited green space. Our efforts can be enhanced by utilizing sustainable locations like parking lots and rooftops to generate solar energy, but developers armed with tax incentives and rebates argue that open space is more "cost-effective." Unfortunately, their plans involve clearing fields and cutting down trees. (And in Green Street's case, decapitating remaining trees at 35 feet.)

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/13/2021

Commercial solar shouldn't have special zoning treatment. Bedford does not need to create zoning rules specific to solar (i.e. "solar siting", "spot zoning", etc...) in order to meet our solar objectives. Our existing laws already allow for building commercial solar in Bedford's commercial and light industrial districts. Just as any commercial enterprise needs to satisfy zoning requirements, commercial solar projects must meet those same requirements. Similarly, residential zoning requirements are in place for residential solar projects. This has not held back residential solar. Changing the zoning laws would simply facilitate the building of inappropriate industrial arrays that do not belong in our residential neighborhoods. Only developers would benefit from this change.

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/12/2021

Open space has long-term value. Bedford residents value open space: our woodlands, meadows and horse farms define our community. We are also ardent supporters of solar energy. Just drive around our scenic roads and you will see solar panels on houses, barns and other properties. But developers argue that Bedford's open spaces are ripe to develop into commercial projects. What we call open meadows and forests, they call "disturbed acreage." Bedford was once a farming community — virtually every open space in Bedford was once plowed farmland and thus "disturbed." Our forests are young and in the process of maturing. Calling them "second growth forests" makes them sound disposable, but Bedford wouldn't have any woodlands without them, and you can't get to old-growth without giving trees time to mature.

Vote NO to changing our zoning laws.
Sign our Petition: www.openspacebedford.org

05/04/2021

Tonight's Bedford Town Board meeting will not address the potential zoning change for commercial solar. It has been postponed to the next Town Board Meeting (May 18). We will post updates and info as we receive it.