The Gloucester Planning Commission met last Thursday night in-person for the first time in months to hold three public hearings at the T.C. Walker Educational Center auditorium.

The first two hearings were to consider conditional use permits to establish utility-scale solar energy facilities. The last was for a text amendment change to the zoning ordinance to clarify the definition of “Boundary Line Adjustment.”

The applicant, Impact Power Solutions, LLC, submitted two CUP applications seeking to establish a utility-scale solar energy facility at the intersection of Maryus Road (Route 640) and Ditch Bank Road (Route 1104) and a large-scale solar facility on Ditch Bank Road. Gregory and Kelly Jenkins own both properties.

The properties are located in the county’s Bayside Conservation (C-2) zoning district and are about 24.7 acres in size. The properties are currently vacant and are adjacent to each other. The surrounding land uses include residential, farmland and wetlands.

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