April 26, 2012
Vermont

Abutters butt heads with wind developer

By Laura Carpenter, The Newport Daily Express, newportvermontdailyexpress.com 25 April 2012

HOLLAND – A Holland couple is upset because they were not notified about the Derby Wind Project and they say their property abuts the Chase Farm where one of two wind turbines could be constructed. Chad Farrell of Encore Redevelopment, LLC, of Burlington, the project developer, disagrees.

Holland property owners Sherry and John Wagner sent a letter to the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) stating that their due process rights are violated and are calling for a halt of the project. The PSB told Encore to respond to the allegation by Monday, April 30.

Holland Town Clerk Diane Judd confirmed Tuesday that the land owned by Jayne and Johnathan Chase does in fact abut the Wagner property. The Wagners only became aware of the project on April 14 when a neighbor phoned to discuss it.

“It is our contention that Chad Farrell of Encore Redevelopment violated our rights to due process by not notifying us in writing of the Chase project and not giving us an opportunity to respond,” the Wagners wrote in their letter to the PSB.

The Wagners are adamantly opposed to the project as they feel it is too close to their home as well as their neighbors’ homes. They are concerned about shadow flicker, short- and long-term effects to their drinking water supply, noise including audible and low frequency, and other concerns.

The Wagners want the project stopped in order to receive proper notice and attain counsel to provide a rebuttal to the project.

Encore must respond and other parties may comment as well, Judith Whitney, deputy clerk of the PSB, wrote. She said that if, in fact, what the Wagners have stated is accurate, it is “especially concerning.”

In a phone interview Tuesday, Chad Farrell said that the Chases own three parcels of land, and the parcel which could contain the turbine does not abut the Wagner property.

The land in questions is contiguous from Holland into Derby, Judd said. The project would be built on the Derby side of the project and the land, which stretches into Holland, abuts the Wagner property, explained Judd.

Encore is seeking two certificates of public good to construct two turbines approximately 425 feet tall on the Chase farm called Smugglers Hill Farm, and the Grandview Farm owned by the Davis family.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/26/abutters-butt-heads-with-wind-developer/