Blandford Solar Map Would Bar Development on 93 Percent of Town Land

BLANDFORD -- March 4, 2026, Blandford energy committee hears that 93 percent of town land could fall in a solar-prohibited zone under a proposed overlay bylaw. A GIS consultant identified as Jacob presented two mapping scenarios at the March 4 meeting: the first, including residential tax parcels in the protected stack, would leave just 7 percent of non-open-water land available for large energy development; the second, removing those parcels, would permit development on roughly 18.5 percent of the town. Members were also warned that the Attorney General is expected to deny the town's solar moratorium within days, prompting discussion of an emergency Planning Board public hearing to advance solar and battery-storage bylaws to a special town meeting within four to five weeks. A separate, time-sensitive matter involves a Chapter 61 land conversion notice, dated February 23, that may give the town as few as 30 days to commission an appraisal, or as many as 120 days to exercise a right of first refusal on a leased solar site; the committee agreed to engage legal counsel immediately to confirm the deadline and the notice's legal sufficiency. Pierce Sky Energy was identified as a developer ready to file applications as soon as the moratorium falls.