Wind turbine regulations adopted in Eastham
EASTHAM — Wind turbine bylaws generated long discussion at town meeting Monday night, but in the end, voters agreed with regulations the planning board had developed, even though it paved the way for erecting a 250-foot tall wind tower on land near a site proposed for an ocean beach.
The residential wind turbine bylaw was necessary, planning board chairwoman Leslie Ann Morse said, because there were no bylaws to regulate the structures in town and the building inspector had already approved two wind turbines.
The residential turbine bylaw, which required a two-thirds majority vote, will permit 75-foot tall height requirements in each of the town’s zoning areas, except for industrial Zone C, which is Holmes Road (off Brackett Road) in North Eastham, where a 100-foot maximum height would be permitted. Special permits would be required. The lengthy article also defined use regulations, design and safety standards.
The municipal wind turbine bylaw created more of a stir, especially after Morse amended the article on town meeting floor to exclude the so-called marina zone (Rock Harbor) and the industrial area and only permit municipal wind turbines, as tall as 250 feet, in Zone H, a 125-acre town owned parcel between Ocean View Drive and Cable Road, part of which lies near where a controversial ocean beach was proposed.
There was some flack at previous public hearings about the planning board’s proposal to erect turbines at the harbor and in the industrial area, which would have included the transfer station pending a zoning change there. Residents at the public hearings objected to 250-foot tall wind turbines at the harbor, saying it would detract from the picturesque character of that bayside area. Public hearing attendees also objected to tall turbines at the transfer station area, noting that area bordered many residential homes.
“We wanted to get something to pass to regulate wind turbines,” Morse explained, noting the board took into account the opposition to these two sites.
Citizen Robert Cook strongly objected to the use of Zone H for municipal wind turbines. “I’m all in favor of putting up wind turbines, but I’m aghast at the idea of that site being used,” he said. “It’s an unfragmented, pristine area. We can do better.”
Voters narrowly approved this article by a vote of 160. A vote of 159 was required for the two-thirds majority.
In a related article, voters shot down the planning board’s attempt to rezone the transfer station area to industrial, even though 250-foot municipal wind turbines could no longer be placed there. The transfer station is a non-conforming use within a residential zone.
However, the residential wind turbine bylaw voters passed earlier in the evening would have permitted 100-foot tall turbines on the site if the zoning were changed to industrial. Resident Nancy Underhill pointed out this would open the site to other industrial uses.
Voters didn’t buy the planning board’s argument that they were seeking merely to correct a historic usage and the article failed to get a two-thirds majority vote.
By Marilyn Miller and Carol K. Dumas
The Cape Codder
5 May 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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