Draft windmill regulations referred to council's ordinance
subcommittee
The Town Council's ordinance subcommittee will begin review of a set of proposed
amendments to the zoning ordinance that will allow windmills as residential
uses.
The committee will meet at noon Wednesday, Jan. 30, in the
Assessing/Codes/Planning conference room on the second floor at Town Hall.
At their Jan. 15 meeting, the Town Council referred the amendments to the
ordinance committee. The amendments, recommended by a 4-1 vote of the Planning
Board in December, allow individual residential windmills of up to 100 feet
high on lots of at least 20,000 square feet.
The committee will also review a recommendation that the town consider erecting
a windmill on town property, such as at the transfer station, as a pilot
project.
The meeting is open to the public, but Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta particularly
invited members of the town's Alternative Energy Committee, an ad hoc committee
researching opportunities to provide alternative energy to municipal and
school buildings and vehicles.
The draft amendments stem from a Town Council directive to the Planning Board
to review current ordinances as they pertain to alternative energy, including
wind, solar, and other sources. The board's recommendation was to address
wind energy, since solar panels are already permitted , and other sources
of alternative energy have not proven practical.
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