January 16, 2013
Texas

Lamapas council says no to man’s windmill

Audrey Spencer | Herald staff writer | Copperas Cove Herald | January 16, 2013 | kdhnews.com

LAMPASAS – A resident’s plan to install a wind energy generation unit at his home ended Monday when the City Council voted to deny his request for a specific-use permit.

Property owner Robert Guptill had been attending City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission meetings since October to gain approval for the permit that would allow him to install a windmill that would generate electricity for his home on Avenue C. The unit, from ground to the tip of the blades, would have been approximately 55 feet tall.

Council member T.J. Roberts spoke against approving the second reading of the ordinance.

“I am 100 percent in support of green energy, but a five-and-a-half-story structure in a neighborhood … we’re not talking about the middle of a pasture, here,” Roberts said. “This would be the tallest structure in town. What happens when three or four more pop up?”

To be in compliance with the Planning and Zoning criteria, the unit could not be taller than 35 feet, Mayor Jerry Grayson informed the council and audience.

“I think appearance and safety are what we need to look at,” Roberts said.

In past meetings, the unit’s structural integrity was questioned, but Guptill told the council it was designed to be taken down in bad weather and, if it was not taken down in time, the units often collapse on themselves, not horizontally.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/16/lamapas-council-says-no-to-mans-windmill/