ZBA continues battery storage hearing to Nov. 5

Zoning Board · Meeting of October 29, 2026

Somerset's Zoning Board of Appeals continued its hearing on a proposed battery storage facility at 1606 Riverside Avenue to November 5. Chair Steven Cadorette, Vice Chair Bernard Miranda and Clerk Steven Moniz voted 3-0 to extend the hearing after an applicant representative said peer reviewers had resolved outstanding questions on particulate matter from a hypothetical battery fire. Outside experts from the firms VHB and Hallowell are preparing memos arguing EPA air-quality standards target long-duration pollution, not short battery fires, and that "we want to provide like we don't want to provide you a model that's based on guesswork." Board members also pressed for permanent perimeter security cameras after "issues brought up by a resident concerning security." The board set November 5 for a status update and November 12 for a fuller session once peer reviewer Jensen Hughes delivers final comments, warned those memos run roughly 45 pages each.

The board also voted 3-0 to adjourn.

In the full story:

• Background: a continued hearing on a battery storage special permit
• The question before the board
• Particulate matter: qualitative analysis and the data-gap argument
• Supporting memos: VHB and Hallowell
• Fire safety, monitoring and security conditions
• Procedural steps and outcome
• Implications and what is next
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,712 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of October 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.