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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Tuesday,January 20,2015 <br /> 6:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> -Must be located within 150 feet of the principal structure. <br /> - Hub height maximum of 30 feet, blade length maximum of 15 feet, and a maximum total height of 45 <br /> feet. <br /> Gaffron noted Medina is the only city that has a setback of 300 feet. Gaffron stated a square 10-acre lot is <br /> 660' x660'. The 300-foot setback standard places the WECS in the extreme center of the lot. Many lots <br /> of ten acres or larger may be narrower than 600 feet and would not be able to locate a WECS on the site. <br /> Gaffron stated a number of the cities had picked five acres as the minimum lot size. <br /> A review of other cities' standards suggests there is little uniformity as to whether or what size of <br /> property should be required for a WECS. The setback requirement most common is 1 to 1.5 times the <br /> total height of the WECS. <br /> Per Orono Code Section 78-1378, in all districts antennas may not exceed 20 feet in height as an allowed <br /> accessory use. The City allows ham radio towers/antennas to be up to 65 feet in combined height via a <br /> conditional use permit. Per Section 78-1433, no accessory structures or buildings may exceed 30 feet in <br /> height and may not exceed the height of the principal building. This pertains to items such as light poles <br /> and flagpoles. A WECS with a height of 45 feet would be an exception to the accessory structure <br /> standard and would have to be defined as such. <br /> A 45-foot maximum WECS height is likely to be limiting from the perspective of optimizing wind <br /> resource conditions. That places it below the typical tree line. WECS height limits vary widely among <br /> the municipal codes reviewed, based on the zoning district,the generating capacity of the WECS,the lot <br /> size,or a combination of these factors. For a 10 kW WECS,Brooklyn Park and Delano limit the height <br /> to 20 feet above the roofline of the principle structure. Medina and Plymouth limit the 10 kW WECS to <br /> 50 feet above grade. Other cities and model ordinances suggest height limits of 125 feet or greater are <br /> appropriate, and the Distributed Wind Energy Association as an industry advocate suggests a minimum <br /> hub height of 60 feet. <br /> Gaffron stated the Planning Commission should also discuss flicker from the wind turbine and noted that <br /> the majority of the city ordinances do not cover that. In addition,the Planning Commission should <br /> discuss whether there is any desire to allow for distribution of electricity outside the property on which <br /> the WECS is located. <br /> The Planning Commission should consider the following questions: <br /> 1. Is the 10-acre lot size minimum an appropriate standard to establish? <br /> 2. Given the wide range of standards established for maximum height of WECS and assuming there <br /> is no desire to allow for WECS with generating capacity greater than 10 kW, is the 45-foot height <br /> limit reasonable? <br /> Schoenzeit stated if the height is higher,the flicker may be eliminated on the small lots and could very <br /> well make it more functional. Schoenzeit stated limiting the height may have negative impacts rather <br /> than improving the situation for the neighbors. <br /> Thiesse asked whether he would be allowed one if he has a 10-acre lot but cannot meet a 300-foot setback <br /> or whether he could come in for a variance. <br /> Page 7 of 21 <br />