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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, November 17, 2014 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br />  <br />Page 3 of 23  <br />  <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <br />Issues for consideration include the following: <br /> <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 /> <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 /> <br />Item #01 - PC Agenda - 01/20/2015 <br />Approval of Planning Commission Minutes <br />[Page 3 of 23]