February 11, 2011
Massachusetts

Brewster nears decision on wind turbines

By Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Times, www.capecodonline.com 11 February 2011

BREWSTER – The planning board is set to meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to begin deliberations on whether to issue a special permit for two municipal wind turbines on town-owned land off Freemans Way.

The board is also expected to consider whether it should require special conditions as a requirement of obtaining a building permit.

The Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative is proposing to spend $10 million to buy and maintain the turbines. The cooperative would sell discounted electricity to the town and pay an annual fee for the land as part of a 20-year lease. The planning board is putting together a list of questions generated by public hearings for the cooperative to answer.

Although cooperative officials will be on hand Wednesday night to answer board members’ questions, there will be no more input from the public.

The planning board has 90-days after they close public hearings to issue a decision. There is a 20-day period of appeal before the building inspector can issue a permit. The special permit is required under a zoning bylaw that established the industrial park as a site for large municipal wind turbines.

The appeal of zoning bylaws is to Land Court or Superior Court.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/11/brewster-nears-decision-on-wind-turbines/