Jackson Planning Board

MINUTES – November 12, 2009– REGULAR MEETING – (UNOFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVED)

3. SMALL WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS

Regarding Small Wind Energy Systems (SWES), the RSAs do not set restrictions on an applicant wishing to install them, just on the town’s ability to restrict them. For example, the town cannot apply its generic height restriction to wind turbines, just as it cannot for cell towers, and the town cannot forbid wind turbines. Betsey stated that, at the 4 subcommittee meetings on SWES, opinions were divided: at 2 meetings having an ordinance was favored, and at 2 no ordinances were wanted.  Scott commented that there probably won’t be a surge of interest in wind energy systems because of high costs for low benefit.  Members concluded that there may not be sufficient demand to warrant bringing this forward.  Betsey Harding commented that while we do not want to needlessly bring forward proposals, some voters will want the option of voting yes or no on proposals.

MINUTES OF WORKSESSION MEETING –October 22, 2009

Members discussed whether to bring forward a proposal on Small Wind Energy Systems; the consensus was that townspeople should be offered a chance to vote on the SWES proposal since installation of wind systems could significantly affect people’s properties and that only an ordinance offered sufficient protection

MINUTES – October 8, 2009–PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING

SMALL WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS:
Rob Upton does not recommend that the Planning Board propose a Small Wind Energy Systems (SWES) ordinance, rather that the Selectmen adopt such regulation as the Planning Board has reviewed and/or recommends.

Betsey asked for board comments about this recommendation.  Scott Badger thinks we still need to propose a zoning ordinance. David Mason requested an opinion from Rob Upton as to why he feels the selectmen have this authority. Heidi Chauvin questions if we really need an ordinance.  David Mason replied if we don’t have an ordinance, we can’t set requirements. Larry Seibert suggested approving an ordinance to  let people vote on it. Tthe members agreed to work on wording for an SWES ordinance.  David Treadwell visited two wind farms in Canada during the last two weeks and commented how little noise the systems made.

Members agreed to set up a workshop to work on wording for these ordinance proposals on October 22 at 7PM.  Heidi Chauvin asked if there is a time limit on getting this wording done. Betsey Harding says we need wording by the January meeting so it can be voted on in March.

Heidi Chauvin, Scott Badger & Betsey Harding will attend the State’s Planning and Zoning workshop on Oct. 17.  Larry Seibert has expressed interest and may attend also.

Jackson Planning Board, Wind Turbine Subcommittee

The subcommittee is currently in the fact finding mode. Public sessions, in round table format where all attendees have the opportunity to voice their opinions, are currently being held. Please make every effort to attend these sessions so that we can make sure your concerns are heard.

Notes from Wind Turbine Subcommittee Meeting, July 14, 2009

Scott Badger called the meeting to order at about 7:05 PM. Present were: Scott Badger, Heidi Chauvin, Jeff Gardner, Nathaniel Gurien, Betsey Harding, and Sarah Kimball. Betsey handed out a draft of guidelines which she created by re-working the NH OEP Model Ordinance.

Sarah asked why the group selected the guidelines approach over the ordinance route. Scott stated that, at the last meeting, most of the 19 attendees preferred the use of guidelines, as a neighborly approach, at least as a first option before considering an ordinance. If it is later determined that an ordinance is necessary, the guidelines easily could be changed into requirements. Scott also affirmed a sense in the community that we have many regulations, and may not need more now.

Nathaniel mentioned that it is easy to tailor guidelines to deal with new information or changing circumstances. Scott stated that in some ways guidelines could be better than an ordinance because of flexibility: for example, if an ordinance stated the SWES tower could be a maximum of 35 feet above the tree canopy, site specific situations might require such a tower to be in a less desirable place; perhaps the tower could be located in a less visible spot if it could be higher above the tree canopy.

Betsey commented that, since no ordinance would be effective before mid-November anyway, putting guidelines in place now at least could be useful to people interested in the issue. Finally, as Scott mentioned, the primary difficulty of the whole topic may be the view issue, and that really cannot be regulated because it comes down to aesthetics.

We concluded that a couple of people meeting with Chris Franchi (in the green energy business) might best develop guidelines which we could review at the next Subcommittee meeting. Nathaniel will try to meet with Scott and Chris this Friday, July 17. He agreed to notify Betsey of the meeting time and place so that it can be publicly noticed 24 hours in advance. Betsey offered to email to Nathaniel and Scott the guidelines distributed that evening, so they would have something to start with.

The next meeting of the SWES Subcommittee will be held in the Town Offices building on Tuesday August 4, at 7:30 PM, and is open to all. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM.

Notes from Wind Turbine Subcommittee Meeting, June 24, 2009

Scott Badger, Subcommittee Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Present were: Scott Badger, Dick Badger, Hank Benesh, Martha Benesh, Del Carrier, Gerry Carrier, Heidi Chauvin, Joan Davies, Dean Davis, Nancy Davis, Hank Dresch, Nathaniel Gurien, Betsey Harding, John McVey, Bobbi Meserve, Bob Scolamiero, Suzanne Scolamiero, Bob Stevenson, and Steve Vosburgh.

Scott began the discussion with a focus on view, seeking ideas about regulating the impact that wind turbines would have. Comments included the fact that regulating intrusion into a view could be quite subjective, that Jackson presents special challenges because views may be more important here than in some other towns, and that the issue of energy is important.

Opinions of the evening's participants were sought concerning whether it would be better to focus on drawing up guidelines (relying on a neighborly approach taken when someone wants to put up a wind turbine), or drafting wording for an ordinance that would regulate the permitting of wind turbines, and their installation (height, setbacks, etc.). In general, people preferred starting with helpful, informative guidelines that could be developed and made available fairly rapidly. Some participants felt that a basic ordinance might be necessary, in order to require that there be notification of neighbors (abutters, and perhaps others whose view would be impacted) and to require inspection by the town's building inspector to ensure safety of installation. Some people expressed the thought that, if guidelines were found to not be sufficiently effective, an ordinance could be adopted later.

Dick Badger, of Badger Realty, noted that there were approximately six areas in town where there were deeded restrictions on erecting structures other than residential buildings. Property owners would be advised to check their deeds before embarking on a wind turbine project.

Martha Benesh brought up the fact that there were about 5 sites in town where anemometry data has been recorded for purposes other than assessing wind energy projects. This data may, however, be valuable to persons evaluating the potential of wind turbines in Jackson.

Nathaniel Gurien agreed to draft some guidelines for the group to review and revise. We agreed that there should be three parts of the guidelines: 1) information, 2) list of considerations (such as efficiency, lot size needed for system height, view and noise impact on neighbors), and 3) the process that the applicant would need to go through to gain approval. People may contact Nathaniel with input (Nathaniel@hifi-trader.com).

In addition, John McVey mentioned that the website he has drafted (http://www.jacksonwindpower.net/WindTurbines/Index.htm) is up and running, with links to variuos sites for additional information. It was suggested that a blog be set up on it for any to enter comments. John agreed to try to do that.

John stated that additional people may be interested in attending and learning more about the pros and cons of wind turbine installation. In case Wednesdays are inconvenient for some, we agreed to hold the next meeting on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:30 PM in the Town Offices building. That meeting will focus on development of guidelines.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.

Notes from Wind Turbine Subcommittee Meeting, June 3, 2009

The meeting was called to order shortly after 7:30 PM. Present were: Huntley Allan, Joan Aubrey, Scott Badger, Heidi Chauvin, Hank Dresch, Scott Ferrari, Nathaniel Gurien, Betsey Harding, George Howard, Bob Kantack, John & Wendy McVey, Bob & Suzanne Scolamiero.

Several documents had been emailed to people prior to the meeting: the State's laws pertaining to Wind Turbines, located in the book of NH legislation pertaining to planning and zoning at RSA (Revised Statutes Annotated) 674:62 - 674:66; the NH Office of Energy & Planning's Model Ordinance, designed to help towns with some of the concepts; and two documents that proposed changes in the Model Ordinance with an attempt to meet Jackson's needs and wishes.

The meeting started with discussion about the RSAs, and the fact that, effective July 11, 2009, Jackson's existing zoning regulations will not apply to installation of wind turbines because the state's regulations supercede Jackson's zoning requirements. For example, the RSAs prevent Jackson from using its 35-foot height limit; no setback from the property line can be required to exceed 150% of the system height, and decibel levels cannot be required to be lower than 55 dBA. It is likely that the Model Ordinance would be a guide for residential installation of a wind energy system, but the town could not enforce any restrictions except those set by the state.

Discussion of the effectiveness of a wind energy system in this area followed. We acknowledged that the winds here are irregular; available state maps of areas with high winds are too small scale to be useful for planning. We discussed the need for a wide cleared area, or a location where the wind system could be high enough to be effective. It is recommended that the system height be 35 feet above the surrounding average tree canopy. Huntley Allan mentioned that Russell Lanoie, who has conducted some programs on residential energy alternatives, stated that wind is an expensive alternative that does not bring as good results as solar panels provide. Wendy McVey noted that the wind turbine located outside the North Conway store Lickety Splits is often not moving at all, even though it is located on a pretty open site. We noted that there may be some people who believe they have an ideal location, or simply want to use wind energy.

We discussed the fact that some lots are too small to permit installation of a tall tower, given the need for a setback sufficient for safety in the event it were to blow over. We discussed the necessity of guy wires on a tall system, potential color choices, the fact that sound travels differently in the hills, net metering, whether installation of a wind system in another's view would affect the view tax, and more. We recognized the need to provide education on the whole topic.

Each participant was asked if the education to be provided should be in the form of an ordinance, on through another route. Hank, Bob K, Huntley, Scott F, Bob S, Scott B, Heidi, Wendy, and John all indicated the opinion that an ordinance would be the best approach. Nathaniel stated that some sort of ordinance would probably be necessary, but that he would prefer an emphasis on provision of guidelines; Joan and Suzanne agreed that guidelines would be preferable. George felt that neighbors ought to be able to work out the issues, but that guidelines might be useful.

We agreed to focus the next meeting on views and decibels. Heidi and Scott B will examine decibel levels, and bring in information. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, June 24th at 7:30 PM in the Town Offices building. The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.

Respectfully submitted by Betsey Harding, Chairperson 6/7/09

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Updated December 5, 2009