News

Committee defers changes to wind turbine law until the end of the month

By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
Published: July 10, 2009

NEWBURYPORT — Any recommendations from the City Council's Planning and Development committee on how to change the city's wind turbine ordinance will not come for a few weeks. The three-person board decided last night to wait to go through the document until they gather more information and divide up the work.

The committee will meet again July 29 at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

The City Council agreed last spring to review the city's wind turbine ordinance after neighbors of the industrial park voiced their opposition to the 292-foot-tall turbine put up by business owner Mark Richey on his woodworking facility site in the industrial park. That turbine went up in January.

At a public hearing in March, neighbors urged councilors to change the document to include a stipulation stating homes that would be affected by the turbine's noise and flicker would receive written notification from the city about the proposal and the date of a public hearing for the application. They expressed how their quality of life has been affected by the turbine and its presence.

Last night, those same concerns were voiced once again by a handful of neighbors.

"The flicker was actually much worse than I ever imagined," Jason LaCroix said, calling the impact "45 minutes of strobe" that gets so bad he and his girlfriend have to leave the house some days. Recent guests sitting on his porch were "horrified" by the noise the turbine makes, he said.

The "flicker," or shadows caused by the moving blades, "is more invasive than we all originally thought," said Fran Larkin, 53 Hill St. The flicker has now reached his house and goes across State Street.

"It dominates the whole house when it's happening, in every room," said Hugh Secker-Walker, 8 Cherry St., calling it "a pulsing light."

With few sunny days so far this summer, the flicker will only be worse in seasons to come, neighbors warned the city councilors. And depending on which way the wind is going, they hear a "thumping" or a "whooshing" noise, the neighbors said. It's not always loud, but you can feel the beating or thumping, Patty Spalding said.

At-large Councilor Donna Holaday asked the committee to look over how studies are presented under the ordinance, saying the independent study used in the Richey case was "wrong" when it said the noise and flicker would be minimal for neighbors.

"That is inaccurate information," she said. "Look at where these neighbors are. So now what do we do?"

Following lengthy feedback from neighbors last night, Councilors Ed Cameron, Barry Connell and Kathleen O'Connor Ives agreed to divide up the current ordinance and break it into categories, including dimensional control, setbacks, the notification process for abutters, mitigation measures, state initiatives and the impact of the turbine on birds and bats. Councilors also agreed to seek information from the police on accident statistics or changes in driving patterns caused by the turbine.