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The solar array would cover nearly 12 acres of the site and be surrounded by a minimum 50 -foot buffer of trees and shrubs. A typical array is mounted on 2- to 3 -foot poles, is 7 to 9 feet tall and about 63 feet long, county planner Patrick Mallett said. The site would be enclosed with an 8- foot -tall, chain -link fence, accessible via a gated driveway off White Cross Road. Crews could drop by at least once a week to maintain the solar facility and cut the grass, officials said. Negotiations with a neighbor have produced a revised plan showing a wider, 65 -foot landscaping buffer on the site's northern border, said project engineer George Retschle, of Ballentine Associates. Roughly 30 feet of that buffer would be existing plants, he said. Neighbors at Tuesday's meeting signed up but did not speak about the company's plan. "Our belief is that our neighbors are comfortable with what we're proposing," White Cross Solar attorney Beth Trahos said. Real estate appraiser Tom Hester testified that his review of about 30 similarly situated solar farms built since 2011 had not affected nearby property values or sale prices. MORE INFORMATION The Planning Board will take public comments about the White Cross solar farm plan through July 1 and pass them on to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in September. The commissioners will not accept additional comments this fall. Review the solar plan, starting on page 510, at /:V [)d. Send comments to county Planning Supervisor Michael Harvey at mharvey@orangecountync.gov or by mail to: 131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278.