Harvard residents have responded to the proposed amendment to the Protective Bylaw drafted by the Planning Board to allow Residential Wind Energy Conversion systems, which is Article 38 on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting May 2, with a mixture of skepticism and enthusiasm. Some residents have said, “Wind turbines? They’re too tall. Besides, they make that swooshing noise.” Other residents say, “They’re good for the environment.” At last year’s Annual Town Meeting residents voted against allowing residential windmills; this year they will have another opportunity to cast their vote.
Residential wind turbines, or windmills, are constructed on top of a large tower. The turbine collects energy from the wind and converts it to electricity. Residents have lobbied the town for more than a year to allow the use of these devices where possible as a way of reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
The Wind Energy Conversion Systems Task Force, formed by the Planning Board in October 2007, was commissioned to study the impact of residential wind conversion systems, the viability of wind power, view sheds, and noise levels. For several months the seven-member group held public meetings, solicited citizens’ concerns, and compiled their research into a series of recommendations that they presented to the Planning Board in January 2008.
In February 2008 the Planning Board told the task force they wouldn’t have enough time to draft an amendment to the Protective Bylaw in time for the Annual Town Meeting. Frustrated that the Planning Board wasn’t taking action quickly enough, task force member John Sweeney resigned, and then worked with fellow members Steve Nigzus and Elaine Lazarus to initiate a citizens’ petition to place their own amendment on the warrant at the Annual Town Meeting. Sweeney asserted that their proposed bylaw addressed residents’ concerns by regulating noise levels and safety aspects. It also prohibited the use of lights on the towers and defined setback distances from property lines.
However, the Planning Board did not support the citizens’ petition. In response to the citizens’ bylaw amendment at the time, board member Joe Sudol wrote in a letter to the editor of the Harvard Press, “The board is not against wind turbines. Any bylaw should be developed with consideration to existing bylaws, abutters’ rights, and impact on the town, and should strike a balance between a property owner’s rights and the rights of all other parties. The Planning Board is in the best position to do this.”
This year the Planning Board drafted the Residential Wind Energy Conversion System Overlay District amendment to the Protective Bylaw in response to residents’ continued support of alternative energy sources. The new amendment restricts windmills to an overlay district, specifically prohibiting the use of windmills in the town center and the historic district. The amendment also requires a special permit and an application for the site plan approval, elements that were lacking in the amendment that was defeated last year.
The amended bylaw proposed by the Planning Board would restrict a tower to a height of 100 feet. Concerns about the noise levels have also been addressed in the amended bylaw, which states that noise from a wind turbine cannot exceed three A-weighted decibels above ambient levels measured at property lines. The applicant has the burden of providing proof that this noise level will not be exceeded.
Asked to comment on the new bylaw amendment, Sweeney observed, “the amendment is actually more restrictive for residential windmills than for cell towers … and is way more restrictive than for an amateur radio antenna, which is a comparable usage model.”
When asked if he thought the amended bylaw would pass at Town Meeting, Sweeney responded, “My sense is that it will pass but the legal fees to apply for the special permit would be more than $60,000. The way the amendment is currently structured and worded, it is basically a prohibition on residential windmills in Harvard.”
