Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the proposal for a solar project on East Red Mill Road in Greenville are now officially off the table. The decision followed a vote by the town board in March to declare East Red Mill Road a scenic byway. A subsequent determination by Code Enforcement Officer Mark Overbaugh found that a commercial solar farm cannot, under town law, be built on a designated roadway. As a result, the project is off the agenda for the town planning board and the application review has ended, explained Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea [RAPPLE-yay). Rappleyea recently advised the planning board that Cypress Creek could appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a use variance — something he said that would be “very, very difficult” to obtain. National solar company Cypress Creek Renewables first proposed the Red Mill Solar project more than five years ago. During that time, there have been multiple meetings, extensive research, hearings and a 640-page application to the town. The company was prepared to lease 23 acres on East Mill Road owned by James Weeks. The project had been moving along in the planning board process until the March town board meeting when board member Travis Richards explained that East Red Mill Road is in fact a New York state designated Scenic Byway. Two sections of roadways were officially designated by New York state as scenic in 1991: a section of East Red Mill as well as a section of Plattekill Road. Both were selected for their viewshed. Read the full story at porcupine soup [dot] com.