June 22, 2013
Massachusetts

Stop & Shop wind turbine hearing continued

By Emily Clark | Wicked Local Plymouth | Posted Jun 22, 2013 | www.wickedlocal.com

PLYMOUTH – The Zoning Board of Appeals continued Wednesday night’s hearing on the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co.’s proposed 275-foot wind turbine behind the grocery store in Myles Standish Plaza.

Representatives for the company said the turbine would help the supermarket divert its fossil fuel use to wind power, as the company moves toward a green approach. A doctor hired by the company maintained that wind turbines do not pose a health risk, but referenced a state report that acknowledged they could adversely impact health if they caused sleep disturbances.

A real estate expert hired by opponents of the project pointed to a connection between wind turbine installations and declining property values. He said the turbine could reduce Algonquin Heights property value by $3 to $13 million. However, ZBA member Bill Keohan noted that one of the examples given showing a significant drop in value after a turbine was constructed could have been due to overpricing of the property in question.

Due to the lengthy nature of wind turbine hearings and their controversial nature, ZBA Chairman Peter Conner limited the hearing to allow time for the second hearing on the agenda. Several spoke in favor of the turbine, but each side’s experts took so long to argue their cases, there wasn’t time to finish either the public input part of the hearing or the applicant’s proposal.

The ZBA continued the hearing to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/06/22/stop-shop-wind-turbine-hearing-continued/