The Appeals Court of Massachusetts (‘Appellate Court”) addressed in a December 8th Memorandum and Order (“Memorandum”) a judicial challenge to a Town of Ware, Massachusetts, (“Ware”) bylaw requiring a special permit for large, ground-mounted solar energy facilities in certain zoning districts. See PLH, LLC v. Town of Ware, 2022 WL 17491278.
The Plaintiff, PLH, LLC (“PLH”) argued that Ware violated a Massachusetts statutory provision providing that:
. . . no zoning ordinance or by-law shall prohibit or unreasonably regulate the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy, except where necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare.
See G.L.c.40 A § 3.
PLH had sought approval for two large ground-mounted solar energy installations in a rural-residential zoning…