Public Hearing Part 2
Residents
Background
You just heard the news that the planning board decided NOT to issue a permit until the solar farm has been redesigned to include a landscape buffer.
Both SolarX and the residents will present their own redesigns at the final public hearing.
Updated task leaders
In addition to the same tasks as before, every team member can propose their own redesign (regardless of their role).
Your team will review the redesigns from each team member and choose one as the final design to present during the public hearing.
Task Leader | Main Responsibilities |
Resident Lawyer | Will argue for the proposed design revision and present the oral testimony. |
Resident Engineer | Will collect evidence and prepare exhibits for the lawyer to present during the testimony. |
Resident Secretary | Will take notes and record answers for the group. |
Timeline (new tasks are highlighted)
Time | Lawyer | Engineer | Secretary |
Before hearing | Redesign solar farm individually | ||
Choose the final design | |||
Write down the argument (claim, evidence and reasoning) | Analyze the design in Aladdin Save evidence from Aladdin Format evidence into exhibit slides | Send the argument to the planning board clerk Organize exhibit slides in the public hearing guide | |
Develop the argument into a full oral testimony | |||
During hearing | Present the oral testimony | | |
Answer the planning board’s clarifying questions | Prepare answers to the planning board’s clarifying questions | Write down the planning board’s clarifying questions | |
Analyze the SolarX’s arguments | Take notes of SolarX’s arguments | ||
After hearing | Discuss next steps as a team | ||
Role assignment
Each task leader will have different main responsibilities and share their newly learned knowledge with other members.
However, every team member should help out in all tasks.
Task Leader | Main Responsibilities | Name(s) |
Resident Lawyer | Will argue for the proposed design revision and present the oral testimony. | |
Resident Engineer | Will collect evidence and prepare exhibits for the lawyer to present during the testimony. | |
Resident Secretary | Will take notes and record answers for the group. | |
Menu
Each section is color-coded for easier navigation.
Section | Leader |
(Shared) | |
Resident lawyer | |
Resident engineer | |
Resident secretary |
Solar Farm Redesign
New design criteria
Yearly profit: You don’t care, but the planning board cannot approve designs with negative profit.
Visibility: The redesign must include a landscape buffer that decreases its visibility, at least for you.
Yearly output: The planning board will only approve designs with at least 100,000 kWh of yearly output.
New design constraints
Land: Your design should be within the boundary of the site.
Trees: Trees cannot be inside the resident property lines or on the sidewalk (see image)
Maintenance: The inter-row spacing should be at least 2m.
Wind resistance: The tilt angle of solar panels should not exceed 35º.
Not here
Not here
Not here
Not here
New design variable: Trees
Aladdin Tips: Trees
Open menu: Right click on the trunk
Delete: Alt + backspace (Chromebook)
Copy: Ctrl + C
Paste: Ctrl + V
Undo: Ctrl + Z
Redo: Ctrl + Y
Resize: drag the squares
Add trees
Some trees shed leaves in winter
Aladdin Tips: People (Observers)
You can drag the residents anywhere within their property lines - even onto the roof or the sidewalk!
When designing the landscape buffer, think: Which point of view has the highest visibility for a resident?
New design journal
Write down numbers of trees
Insert a screenshot to show where the trees and people are
Calculated automatically
Save the visibility results and insert here
Remember to save as new file!
Remember to reflect!
Choose the final design
Each team member will iterate as much as they can, so the you team can have at least 3 candidates for the final design.
When your group has enough candidates, discuss which design you will choose as the final design to present at the public hearing by considering all of the criteria and constraints. Review the Aladdin models and each other’s design journals to help you decide.
Final design: [Aladdin file name of final design]
Reasons for choosing: [write down reasons]
Aladdin file name | | | |
Designer | | | |
Yearly energy output (kWh) | | | |
Yearly profit, with trees ($) | | | |
Visibility | | | |
Preparing the Argument / Oral Testimony
Task Leader: Resident Lawyer
Argument: Claim
Since the planning board has decided to require a redesign, your new goal is to convince the planning board to choose your design - or at least, to make sure that whichever design the planning board ends up choosing, it always has the residents’ interest in mind.
Make a claim about why your solar farm proposal should receive the permit.
Answer: I claim that the proposed solar farm benefits the city by [fill in the claim here…]
The proposed solar farm will also protect the residents’ interest by [fill in the claim here…]
Argument: Evidence
Ask the resident engineer for exhibits that can serve as evidence to support your claim.
Acceptable exhibits include (but are not limited to) analysis results, calculations, graphs, and screenshots.
Answer: To support my claim, I would like to present two exhibits.
Exhibit A is a screenshot of a computer model of the proposed solar farm design, generated with Aladdin.
Exhibit B is [describe the evidence here…]
Argument: Reasoning
Explain the reasoning why the exhibits support your claim. Include any solar science concepts and engineering design principles that goes into your decision making.
Ask the resident engineer for help if needed.
Answer: As exhibit A shows,
As exhibit B shows,
Ask the secretary to send your argument (including claim, evidence, and reasoning) to the planning board clerk (as text, through email) before the public hearing.
Outline of an oral testimony
Use this outline to develop your argument into full sentences / paragraphs. This will be your oral testimony at the public hearing.
Prepare the oral testimony script
[Opening]
Dear planning board members, I would like to make an argument for my solar farm design.
[Claim]
I claim that the proposed solar farm benefits the city by [...].
[Evidence]
To support my claim, I would like to present the following exhibits. Exhibit A is [...]. Exhibit B is [...].
[Reasoning]
Exhibit A shows that [...]. Exhibit B shows that [...].
[Closing]
Therefore, the application should receive the permit.
You will read this script during the public hearing.
Preparing the Exhibits
Task Leader: Resident Engineer
Collecting evidence
Open the Aladdin model of the proposed design, analyze the design performance, and fill in the blanks below. These data can serve as evidence of the performance of the proposed design.
Save any graphs or images on your computer as additional evidence, and use the exhibit template to organize your evidence into exhibits that the company lawyer can present during the public hearing. See exhibit A for an example.
Design performance | |
Number of solar panels | |
Yearly energy output (kWh) | |
Yearly profit, without trees ($) | |
Yearly tree cost ($) | |
Yearly profit, with trees ($) | |
Visibility | |
(Example) Exhibit A: Design overview
Description: A computer model of the proposed solar farm design, generated with Aladdin, and its design variables.
Design variables | Final design |
Tilt angle (º) | 35 |
Row width (panels) | 2 |
Inter-row spacing (m) | 4 |
Tall trees | 0 |
Short trees | 0 |
Exhibit: [insert name of the evidence]
Description: [insert a brief description of the evidence to help the planning board understand it]
[This is the exhibit template. Insert the evidence (like any graphs, screenshots, or tables) here]
Note Taking
Task Leader: Resident Secretary
Planning board questions
Use this area to take notes of the planning board’s clarification questions and prepare your responses: | Answer these questions: |
What questions did the planning board ask? | |
What part of your argument was the planning board asking about? Was it the claim, evidence, or reasoning? | |
How can you respond to the planning board’s question? | |
What additional evidence or reasoning can you provide to strengthen your argument? |
Company’s arguments
Use this area to take notes of the company’s arguments: | Answer these questions: |
What claims did the company make? | |
What evidence did the company provide to support their claims? | |
What reasoning did the company provide to support their claims? | |
What can you do about your design to create a solution that is acceptable to all parties? Highlight your choice.
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