Worthington Voters Pass Four Solar and Battery Storage Moratoriums in One Night

WORTHINGTON — February 24, 2026 — Worthington special town meeting approves four overlapping solar and battery storage moratoriums. Voters Tuesday passed Articles 6, 7, 8, and 10, covering large-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations and large-capacity energy storage systems, with measures ranging from a citizen's petition signed by 258 residents to a Planning Board-drafted pair of zoning amendments and a home-rule petition to the state legislature inspired by state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Lindsey Sabadosa. Planning Board Chair Bart Neiswonger warned that blanket town-wide moratoriums have been rejected by the attorney general's office in every case since the Supreme Judicial Court's 2022 Tracer Lane decision, and said the board's Articles 7 and 8 — which exclude solar from roughly 53 percent of the town and batteries from roughly 87 percent — were drafted specifically to survive that review. Police Chief John Scobie also secured voter approval of a $7,110.10 budget transfer to cover the gap between a $9,800 canine grant and a $10,500 dog purchase price, plus Boston Police Academy training travel costs for a 14-week certification program.