May 18, 2016
Rhode Island

North Smithfield residents opposed to turbine prepare fierce court fight

By RUSS OLIVO | The Call | www.woonsocketcall.com

NORTH SMITHFIELD – Don’t go looking for those churning propeller blades high above the southern horizon anytime soon – the 465-foot wind turbine proposed for a site on Old Smithfield Road must now spin past two legal hurdles before it catches a friendly breeze.

The Zoning Board was scheduled to consider Wind Energy Development’s application next week, but that’s not going to happen, partly because a group of abutters calling itself COURT – for Conserve Our Unique Rural Town – filed a formal appeal with the town on Monday.

Hours later, the Town Council attacked on a second legal flank, passing an emergency moratorium on wind turbines for at least 180 days.

Now instead of considering WED’s application for a special use permit and a dimensional variance to build the turbine, members of the zoning board, sitting as the Board of Appeals, must decide whether COURT’s petition has merit. And in a separate matter, the panel must determine whether the moratorium can be applied retroactively to WED’s proposal, according to Town Solicitor David Igliozzi.

For complete story, see Wednesday’s print edition of The Call.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/05/18/north-smithfield-residents-opposed-to-turbine-prepare-fierce-court-fight/