YMCA Solar Panels Rests On Bridgewater Board's Decision

Installing Solar panels on the roof and over the existing car park at the Hillsborough YMCA hinges on a decision from the Bridgewater Township Zoning Board.

That’s because the three-part project needs approval from boards in each of the towns where the Somerset Valley YMCA has sites—Hillsborough, Somerville and Bridgewater.

“We’re a three-site organization,” Paul Kieltyka, Chief Executive Officer for the Somerset Valley YMCA, said. “The whole project is contingent on the three sites being ready to go. .  .The developer is not ready to move forward until all three sites are ready to go.”

The Hillsborough Planning Board approved the minor site plan for solar panels on the Hillsborough YMCA roof, and for panels over existing parking spaces on the site in July. The board then approved the resolution that allows construction to begin at its Oct. 6 meeting.

Hillsborough’s existing regulations allow the YMCA to place solar panels on its roof, however, the organization needed to seek approval for the parking lot panels. The YMCA will have the same number of parking spaces, however, the panels will be placed at an angle above the spaces. The panels’ highest point will be 17 feet in the air, according to the site plan. The YMCA building and the Department of Public Works building provide buffers for the south and south-west portions of the building, and the contractor would plant evergreen trees to supplement existing trees on the site.

Somerville Township also approved the panels for its YMCA building, Kieltyka said.

Like Hillsborough, the Bridgewater YMCA solar panel plan requests panels over existing carports. .

But the complication in Bridgewater is that the YMCA location is in a residential area, necessitating a variance from the town’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. That placement also elicited concerns from residents about the panels’ visibility, and whether lighting from the panels will glare on to the road in front of Bridgewater Raritan High School.

“There certainly is more concern given that the location is in a residential area,” Kieltyka said. “It normally doesn’t allow ground-mounted solar panels in a residential zone.”

Still, Kieltyka expects to move forward with the project after Tuesday night’s meeting with the Bridgewater Zoning Board, he said.

“The intent by the developer is to get this project underway before the end of the year,” Kieltyka said. “The whole process to install the panels takes six to eight weeks. Our intent is that hopefully we can get some of these installed before the end of the year.”