The town’s Conservation Commission also heard from the neighbors.
“The opposition is the proximity to some of its neighbors,’’ said conservation agent Sarah Hewins, who is also a town selectwoman. “One thing that can be done is we can work with other boards to try to make this a win-win situation’’ for both solar power and the neighbors.
Private developers are seeking to build a 7-acre solar farm on the bog off Purchase Street.
The site was originally planned for a cranberry bog by its owners, who applied for and received a permit to excavate a new bog.
But cranberry prices have stayed low, and the land’s owners - three partners doing business as Rocky Meadow Development Corp. - switched to solar farming as a potentially better opportunity that would allow them to take advantage of federal tax incentives for renewable energy.
But residents in the neighborhood, which straddles the town line, say they feel betrayed by a development that replaces an agricultural use with an industrial one.
“We feel we bought our house under false pretenses,’’ said Elise Young of Leland Way last week. “We thought it was going to be a beautiful view of reservoirs and cranberries behind our house.’’
Elise and Patrick Young bought their newly constructed house a year ago from a builder who is also a partner in Rocky Meadow Development Corp.
Agricultural views would add value to their house, Elise Young said, but an industrial use for a neighbor is likely to detract from it.
And at 50 feet away from her property line, the project is too close, said Young, who says she is also worried about its impact on the environment.
“We have deer running through our backyard,’’ she said.
Rocky Meadow Development Corp. officials could not be reached for comment. Company officer Barry McNeill, of Seekonk, did not return phone calls.
