Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Monday,November 17,2014 <br /> 7:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> The 2013 draft also indicated that residential wind turbines require a building permit and are allowed as <br /> an accessory use in the RR-1A and RR-1B Districts. The draft prohibited them in all other zoning <br /> districts and also prohibited them within the designated Shoreland Overlay District and within floodplains <br /> and wetlands. <br /> Because WECS were not allowed in commercial/industrial districts,no specific permit requirements were <br /> established for that use. Because the use was limited to residential wind turbines and did not include <br /> larger WECS, and because of the limitations established on them regarding location, design, etc.,the <br /> Planning Commission was comfortable allowing them as an accessory use rather than as a conditional <br /> use. <br /> The 2013 draft established a variety of setbacks and system location requirements specifically designed <br /> for the large-lot areas in which WECS were proposed to be allowed, including the following: <br /> 1. Because the minimum lot size was proposed at ten acres, a setback from all property lines of 300 <br /> feet was suggested. It is more common in many model ordinances to have a lot line setback of <br /> 1.1 to 1.5 times the peak height of the WECS,presumably to have no impact on neighboring <br /> properties if the WECS falls over. Such a minimal setback does not take into account other <br /> WECS impacts on neighboring properties. <br /> 2. The 2013 draft ordinance required that WECS not be installed in a defined front or side street <br /> yard. This appears to be common within other cities' ordinances. It did not set a standard for <br /> lakeshore yards because WECS were prohibited in shoreland areas. <br /> 3. The draft ordinance required that WECS be located no further than 150 feet from the principal <br /> structure to which they are accessory in order to ensure that such facilities are not placed far away <br /> from the owner's residence. <br /> The draft included a number of safety, design, and operational standards related specifically to Residential <br /> Wind Turbines and did not attempt to address standards for Small Wind Turbines,Utility Wind Turbines, <br /> nor for any commercial/industrial uses. The design standards listed in the draft were intended to <br /> minimize impacts to the natural environment as well as to neighboring property owners. <br /> The 2013 draft ordinance did not allow for commercial/industrial WECS and therefore did not include <br /> standards for them. Model ordinances suggest differing capacities for residential versus commercial <br /> WECS. For instance,the MPCA model defines commercial WECS as equal to or greater than 100 kW <br /> and non-commercial as less than 100 kW. <br /> Issues for consideration include the following: <br /> 1. The intent of this study is to establish standards for Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems <br /> (SWECS)as defined by state statute; i.e.,those WECS less than 5,000 kW capacity. <br /> 2. The City can establish a wide variety of standards for SWECS that provide for appropriate siting, <br /> design, construction, operation, safety, and compatibility with surrounding land uses. The 2013 <br /> draft was purposely quite limiting in many respects and should be reviewed to consider whether <br /> those standards should be revised. <br /> Page 3 of 23 <br />