On Monday, November 2, the board held a public meeting on proposed revisions to the town's zoning regulation. The amendment addresses specific use provisions and conditional permit requirements for wind turbines.
The purpose of the amendment is to clarify the need for a permit and to provide regulation guidance beyond the height exemption in section 4.5 ("height requirements") in the Moretown zoning regulations.
NET METER
Section 3.16 "Wind Turbines" stipulates that applicants that hold a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Vermont Public Service Board (allowing them to net meter their wind turbine) do not need a Moretown zoning permit. Applications must certify that they have received a CPG and submit a CPG certification form to the town zoning administrator.
Under the proposed amendment, applicants without a CPG will be required to obtain a conditional permit and be subject to conditional use review under the following provisions outlined in the amendment language.
The amendment also addresses the potential for adverse aesthetic impact on ridgelines and hilltops.
RENEWABLE ENERGY OPTION
Moretown resident Colleen Thomas expressed concern over the proposed amendment language, which she said "may not be very encouraging" to residents and businesses who might consider the renewable energy option.
"It seemed as though the regulations as drafted might be overly restrictive, and I would hope that we would consider language that would be much more encouraging and inviting for those interested in pursuing that option," Thomas said.
Select board chair Rae Washburn said the purpose of the meeting was to take the public's comment and relay them to the planning commission; if major revisions are made, Washburn said, another public hearing would be scheduled to discuss the changes.
MOM AND POP GAS STATIONS
Moretown resident Caroline Strauss said, "Being an artist, aesthetics are everything in the world to me, but in this case, I think necessity and the future means that we have to think of windmills as absolutely beautiful, far more beautiful than mom and pop gas stations."
"Somehow we've got to change our thinking of what's beautiful, and anything is more beautiful than the pollution from gasoline," Strauss continued.
Washburn asked Thomas if she had any specific suggestions for revisions to the amendment language. Thomas said she wouldn't have aesthetics be a factor for consideration at all.
WIND TURBINES
"I look at wind turbines as an aesthetic positive. What I'm concerned with here is the implied negative impact of aesthetics and how and who would determine that; what I think this doesn't clearly enough articulate is what this adverse aesthetic impact refers to," Thomas said.
"These open-ended statements about the periods of time, the frequency of view experience, is that to imply that the more I see it the happier I'm going to be because I see that as indicative of Vermont's tradition of working landscapes; a Moretown resident choosing to put a windmill on their property I think is contributing to responsible ownership of our carbon footprint," she continued.
Thomas asked that more specific language be included to encourage residents to pursue wind energy.
QUITE A BIT OF NOISE
Moretown resident Hoover Austin asked why there wasn't any language in the proposed amendment that addresses noise. "There is one (turbine) in the airport in Warren that makes quite a bit of noise, and I'm just surprised there isn't anything about noise in there."
A select board member raised similar concerns and said it might not have to be addressed in the amendment if it is already outlined in the zoning regulations.
Moretown resident Gary LeBoeuf added, "It appears to me that we're going to get off our duffs here and get some real thoughts about what we're going to do for energy. A lot of people don't want dams, they don't want nuclear power, they don't want windmills, they don't want solar. We've got a big natural gas reserve here; we don't want to drill for gas. Somebody's going to have to wake up here. We've got buildings going up and not any more power plants."
Town officials said the proposed zoning amendments will be voted on by Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day in March.
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