PELHAM — Proposed revisions to bylaws associated with solar installations, driveways and lighting, expected to be presented to annual Town Meeting next month, are being reviewed Wednesday evening.

The Planning Board and Select Board are holding a joint in-person meeting at the Ramsdell Room in the Pelham Library at 7:30 p.m., to provide an overview of the articles and get feedback in advance of the May 13 Town Meeting.

For solar electric installations, a 20-page bylaw would replace the current Article V.

The new bylaw begins with a background that states, “It is the responsibility of the town of Pelham, through reasonable regulation and within the context of the local community that solar development occurs in a manner that protects its residents’ health, safety and welfare. This bylaw seeks to establish the appropriate balance.”

The bylaw references forests and wetlands, the need to protect habitats, trails and historic resources, and stipulates design, performance, safety and environmental standards that should be followed.

For driveways, the bylaws aim to bring consistency to regulations. They include adding a requirement for an engineered site plans for certain driveways, removing resurfacing as a non-significant modification to an existing driveway and clarifying the standards for a common access driveway, such as maximum grades at certain points of these driveways.

The final bylaw would replace the current language addressing lighting and replace it with one that ensures lighting standards adopted for Pelham’s village center apply to all zoning districts.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>