Neighbors vow to fight county park solar plan

A four-acre solar panel array proposed to be built in Mee-Kwon Park in Mequon was opposed last week by residents living near the site, who called it “visually assaulting” and promised to “aggressively oppose” the project.

We Energies proposed last November to pay the Ozaukee County $42,277 a year for 20 years to rent 3.9 acres at the south end of the park where it would place the panels, which would generate 1.22 megawatts of electricity.

The site is currently an open field through which are walking trails.

The installation is part of We Energies’ Solar Now program, in which the company leases roof tops or land from governments or non-profits for solar panels.

The company has already reached deals with the Port Washington-Saukville School District and the Village of Saukville.

Neighbors to the project, however, say it would destroy a “hidden gem” and damage their property values.

“I’m really disappointed that no one has looked at this from the residents’ viewpoint,” Aaron Armstrong told supervisors on the county Public Works Committee last week.

“This is not a not-in-my-back-yard protest; this is about destroying a park,” he said. “We do plan on aggressively opposing this” by putting pressure on the utility “and risk killing the entire project.”

The top height of the solar panels will be eight feet and sit three feet off the ground. They will be screened by a seven-foot-high chain link fence and by tall prairie grasses.

Solar panels will be set back from the fence more than 100 feet.

One house is within 500 feet of the proposed fence line while others are more than 500  feet away, officials said. 

The site also is partially screened by trees on the south and east sides from residences. 

Armstrong and other residents at the committee meeting urged county officials to find another location for the solar panels but were told those efforts had already been exhausted.

The site is preferred by We Energies partly because it is near an electrical substation. Other sites would require construction of high power lines to the solar field.

The county Energy Commission has recommended approval. The county Natural Resources Committee recommended not going ahead with the project, with the majority of members saying residents had not been sufficiently consulted.

Assistant County Administrator Jason Wittek said WEPCO has indicated no other sites are acceptable and it would not partner with the county to build the array if the Mee-Kwon site is rejected.

Supr. Pat Marchese, who represents another part of Mequon and is chairman of the Mequon Parks and Open Space Board, said he opposes putting the solar panels in Mee-Kwon Park.

“I just feel strongly that it is a completely inappropriate use in a park,” he said. “If it means the program is out, the program is out.”

Public Works Chairman Marty Wolf was skeptical, however.

“I don’t understand how this will lower property values,” Wolf said. He said he thought the project would have a “low impact” on the neighborhood.

Supr. Tom Grabow agreed.

“As far as property values going down, I find that hard to believe. In fact, their values have gone up because the park is there.”

Armstrong said studies he’s seen estimate the potential property value loss would be 11% to 25%, which would represent “several millions in our neighborhood.”