FRAMINGHAM - The wind turbine waiting game will continue, as Town Meeting referred a proposal that would have set up town regulations for the structures to the Planning Board.

There is no bylaw on the books that would allow residents or businesses to harness wind power via turbine in town.

A year in the making, the proposal was intended to protect Framingham residents while carving a niche for an emerging technology.

But it came as no surprise to Town Meeting member Yaakov Cohn, a member of the subcommittee assigned to draft the bylaw, that Town Meeting held off on passing the proposal.

He said more research is needed and warned against minimizing safeguards just because some people "really like wind energy."

Town Meeting member Gwendolyn Holbrow, meanwhile, was concerned Framingham is so thickly settled that wind turbines would cause a nuisance no matter where they are built.

Town Meeting member Nicola Cataldo was concerned about the effect wind turbines could have on the ecosystem.

"We have a love affair with technology and hope that science will save us," said Cataldo.

Framingham has at best moderate winds, said Town Meeting member Kathy Vassar, and there are no pressing requests for freestanding turbines.

Vassar, an associate member of the Planning Board, suggested the proposal be referred to that board.

"There's no rush," she said.

This came after the proposal was tabled on May 7. The subcommittee finalized the legal language of the initiative on May 11, said Planning Board member Tom Mahoney, who headed the subcommittee.

Under the bylaw, free-standing turbines, would have been allowed in two manufacturing zones and in the Technology Park.

They would have topped out at 250 feet, according to the proposed bylaw, and be set back from the nearest property line by at least 150 percent of the height of the structure.

Noise coming from the structures was not to exceed 10 decibels above the ambient noise level.

Residents were give the opportunity to take advantage of any wind power on their properties under the proposal. The guidelines called for structures to be on top of roofs and not freestanding and conform to existing height and setback standards.

The town can also take advantage of wind turbines as the proposal allows for wind turbines to be built on town-owned property so long as it benefits town buildings or operations.

Applicants would have to go through a special permitting process to get the go-ahead from the Planning Board for a turbine.

Last spring, Town Meeting shot down a wind turbine bylaw that Town Meeting member Tom O'Neil and Cohn supported, with critics saying the measure was confusing and too inflexible.

Some suggested the parameters were so numerous and stringent that the proposal would essentially disallow any turbines from being installed.

So a committee made of a selectman, two Planning Board members, two Greener Framingham members, and two Standing Committee on Planning and Zoning members was formed to study a more feasible solution.

But progress, by all accounts, was slow as the committee members butted heads on numerous facets of the bylaw.

Now, the Planning Board will get a shot at crafting a proposal.

In other business, Town Meeting approved an enabling statute that, if approved by the Attorney General, would allow Town Meeting to cast votes electronically, instead of by hand.

The town would then have to consider acquiring proper equipment, and Town Meeting would decide under which circumstances the machines would be used.

Town Meeting completed its spring session on Tuesday.