Changes have been approved to an agreement between the town and the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative Inc. (CVEC) to create solar arrays on town-owned parcels of land. The projects are expected to save the town millions in electricity costs down the road.

The Edgartown Planning Board Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to place a cell antenna in an abandoned silo in Katama, despite some opposition from neighbors. At meetings over the last few months, Katama residents had opposed AT&T’s plan to place the antenna in an abandoned silo at the Farm Institute, citing perceived concerns about radiation affecting property values and the Farm Institute’s donations, sales of produce and meat, and summer camp program. Farm Institute representatives said if the tower posed a risk to visitors or livestock, they would not have let the project go forward.

Neighbors Head to Court to Stop New Programs at Town's Katama Farm

By MANDY LOCKE

Complaining that Edgartown officials turned a deaf ear to their appeals to limit operations at Katama Farm, a group of four Katama residents will go to court Tuesday - pleading with a superior court judge to evict the FARM Institute, newest tenant of the town-owned farm.

Judge Rejects Neighbors' Pleas Over Katama Farm, Supports Current Usage

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

In a detailed decision that explicitly recognizes the value of a 190-acre, town-owned farm in the Great Plains section of Edgartown, a superior court judge late last week soundly rejected a request from a group of neighbors who are trying to shut down Katama Farm.

Capital Boost Needed at Katama Farm

By MANDY LOCKE

After a superior court judge denied initial efforts by a group of neighbors to evict FARM Institute from Katama Farm, questions remain about the condition of buildings at the town-owned farm.

Katama Farm - nearly 200 acres of sweeping grassland cradled in the middle of the town's densely settled south shore community - has seen better days. Wear and tear brought on by a string of failed operations over the last 24 years have left this facility's barns and silos in a state of disrepair.

Construction for a solar array at Katama Farm is set to begin this winter, now that the Edgartown planning board approved a special permit for the project this week, clearing the last hurdle for what will be the Island’s largest installation of photovoltaic panels.

Calling it an inappropriate use of prime agricultural land, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society appealed to the Edgartown selectmen this week to reconsider a plan to use five acres at Katama Farm for a solar panel project that is not yet built. Town leaders responded that they intend to stay the course with the project.

In a letter sent to the selectmen this week, agricultural society president Dale McClure urged to the town to find alternative sites for the photovoltaic panels.