PARIS — The Select Board will study a request for a zoning change to accommodate a solar project on the former AC Lawrence tannery site between Oxford Street and the Little Androscoggin River.

Matt Kennedy, project developer for Maine Community Power Cooperative of Norway, asked the board to change the zoning from resource protection to either general development or limited commercial.

“It’s a deal-breaker for us before we even get to the starting line,” Kennedy said of the resource protection district with its required 250-foot setback.

The general development zone requires a setback of 100 feet.

The tannery site was designated as a superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency in the early 2000s. More than 30,000 tons of soil was removed from the property for contamination and heavy metals, notably chromium.

Kennedy said the property is perfect for his project. The deep sandy soil left from the EPA cleanup would create little soil disturbance which would create potential erosion into the river.

Maine Community Power Cooperative has received a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy for six projects, Kennedy said. Two projects are scheduled to begin construction next week in Harrison, Kennedy said.

He said his company’s projects are much smaller than traditional solar companies. The arrays sit on one acre of land, with another acre as a buffer around the project. Because of its size, Kennedy said these projects can connect directly with the nearby power line.

“We operate at cost,” Kennedy said. “We don’t have out-of-state investors.”

Select Board members April 28 appeared to like the proposal.

“It was a commercial site before,” Selectman Christopher Summers, the code enforcement officer, said. “Basically, with the 250-foot setback, the property will be pretty much useless for anybody.”

Town Manager Natalie Andrews told the board it did not have the authority to make the zoning change; voters do.

With the 250-foot setback in place, any zoning change would also need approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Chairman Scott McElravy said.

“It may be a good idea, but the town can’t just do away with the DEP regulations and change it to a different name,” McElravy said.

Board members said they wanted to study the issue further before making any decision on the solar project, which also needs to go before the Planning Board.