TOWN OF ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- In a packed gym on Monday night, the Town of Elmira reviewed the plans for the proposed Hillcrest solar and battery storage site. 

"From the planning board standpoint, the goal is to examine that application for a site plan, and for a special permit.  The other board is looking at the energy storage law itself," said Town of Elmira attorney Scott Moore.

According to Carson Power, the proposed solar and storage site could power 690 homes.  The Tesla BESS system would include one shipping container of lithium ion batteries.  The developer says the project would have little impact from a visual standpoint.

Carson Power brought in a fire expert out of New York City, who says he who specializes in high voltage fires.  Community members were invited to write their questions about the project on note cards for officials to answer.  At the meeting, he talked about similar projects and their fire risks.  He said if the lithium battery storage site catches fire, a process calling venting is used to put the fire out.  Community members voiced their concerns about the need for evacuation if this proposed site were to catch fire, as well as the risks from plumes of smoke.

"Unless you are less than 100 feet, you have nothing to worry about," said Anthony Natale, from Fire and Risk Alliance.  "The gasses, they all rise and dissipate. They do not spread horizontally...We would find readings that were at an actionable level."

If approved, developers say the project would take six to eight months to complete.  They say it has a 25 year life span, with a bond in place for the decommissioning of the site when the time comes.

"From a site perspective, we've done the best we can, and at the end of the day, New York's power need is increasing.  The state has expressed that these projects are valuable to the state and meeting their power needs, and we're doing our best to work with our site team to put projects where they're needed, and in this case, that's what were doing," said Nicholas Cunha, a senior project developer with Carson Power.

The Town of Elmira brought in an energy safety response group.  The group said they were there to ensure the plans were up to code and following state guidelines.

The board did not take any action on Monday night.  Town officials say the site plans need to go before the Chemung County Planning Board to get approval.  The next Town of Elmira meeting will take place on March 24th at 7 p.m.