02-17-2015 Planning Commission Packet

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, January 20, 2015 6:30 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 21 - Must be located within 150 feet of the principal structure. - Hub height maximum of 30 feet, blade length maximum of 15 feet, and a maximum total height of 45 feet. Gaffron noted Medina is the only city that has a setback of 300 feet. Gaffron stated a square 10-acre lot is 660’ x660’. The 300-foot setback standard places the WECS in the extreme center of the lot. Many lots of ten acres or larger may be narrower than 600 feet and would not be able to locate a WECS on the site. Gaffron stated a number of the cities had picked five acres as the minimum lot size. A review of other cities’ standards suggests there is little uniformity as to whether or what size of property should be required for a WECS. The setback requirement most common is 1 to 1.5 times the total height of the WECS. Per Orono Code Section 78-1378, in all districts antennas may not exceed 20 feet in height as an allowed accessory use. The City allows ham radio towers/antennas to be up to 65 feet in combined height via a conditional use permit. Per Section 78-1433, no accessory structures or buildings may exceed 30 feet in height and may not exceed the height of the principal building. This pertains to items such as light poles and flagpoles. A WECS with a height of 45 feet would be an exception to the accessory structure standard and would have to be defined as such. A 45-foot maximum WECS height is likely to be limiting from the perspective of optimizing wind resource conditions. That places it below the typical tree line. WECS height limits vary widely among the municipal codes reviewed, based on the zoning district, the generating capacity of the WECS, the lot size, or a combination of these factors. For a 10 kW WECS, Brooklyn Park and Delano limit the height to 20 feet above the roofline of the principle structure. Medina and Plymouth limit the 10 kW WECS to 50 feet above grade. Other cities and model ordinances suggest height limits of 125 feet or greater are appropriate, and the Distributed Wind Energy Association as an industry advocate suggests a minimum hub height of 60 feet. Gaffron stated the Planning Commission should also discuss flicker from the wind turbine and noted that the majority of the city ordinances do not cover that. In addition, the Planning Commission should discuss whether there is any desire to allow for distribution of electricity outside the property on which the WECS is located. The Planning Commission should consider the following questions: 1. Is the 10-acre lot size minimum an appropriate standard to establish? 2. Given the wide range of standards established for maximum height of WECS and assuming there is no desire to allow for WECS with generating capacity greater than 10 kW, is the 45-foot height limit reasonable? Schoenzeit stated if the height is higher, the flicker may be eliminated on the small lots and could very well make it more functional. Schoenzeit stated limiting the height may have negative impacts rather than improving the situation for the neighbors. Thiesse asked whether he would be allowed one if he has a 10-acre lot but cannot meet a 300-foot setback or whether he could come in for a variance. Item #01 - PC Agenda - 02/17/2015 Approval of Planning Commission Minutes [Page 7 of 21]