Neighbors disagree on impact

NEWBURYPORT - Eileen Shapiro looks out her window each day and is greeted by Mark Richey's 292-foot-tall wind turbine.

A resident at the condos at 2 Hill St., Shapiro's front yard directly faces the turbine. And she doesn't mind at all.

"This is not affecting my quality of life at all," Shapiro said.

But just doors away, neighbors tell a different story.

In lobbying for larger buffer zones from turbines in the future, Shapiro's neighbors on Hill Street shared with the City Council tales of living with the noise and flicker, from having to move their beds to different corners, or not being able to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather without hearing the turbine.

A group in the Back Bay neighborhood has started a Web site, BackBayWind.org, that links to research video showing the potential hazards of these massive turbines, from health hazards to safety fears. They are raising concerns about the impacts of the almost 300-foot structure, such as the whirring noise it generates, safety, low-level vibrations, and the flicker effect that the turbine creates some afternoons when the setting sun hits it.

Neighbors asked the City Council to review the ordinance it adopted last year that regulates wind turbines in the city. The turbine on Richey's property is too close to their homes, they say.

Jason LaCroix, 14 Hill St., told councilors of the "human effect" the turbine has caused in the neighborhood. He recently purchased and put in a new glass door on his house. He had to take it out after he saw the shadows of the turbine's rotors on his wall reflecting off the glass. On his rooftop deck, the turbine is "virtually eye level," he said.

The flicker study done for the Richey turbine wasn't accurate and minimized what impact it would have on the Back Bay neighborhood, LaCroix's mother, Judy, told the council. "It's there," she said.

Jeff Tomlinson, 21 Hill St., told councilors he was outside during the spring's first beautiful day. Suddenly, he realized he was tapping his foot to the beat of the turbine's spin.

Shapiro said she's never heard any noise from the turbine. Her husband says he has heard it on his early morning walks. And then, it's only a faint "whoosh."

What she can hear is traffic from cars and background noise from birds, Shapiro said. The red light on the turbine, which some neighbors say flashes in their window at night, doesn't faze her, Shapiro said.

While she has experienced some of the flicker impact - when shadows from the turbine hit her walls, homes and the street - it only lasts about a half an hour, she said.

"It's certainly not every day of the year," she said. "It's not a constant."

While the flicker impact may vary in different parts of the street, comments about the turbine making a loud noise and being a burden to live with aren't true, Shapiro said.

"I don't know what they're talking about," she said. "Can you hear it? The noise; it's just not there."

Mayor John Moak said he has met with several of the neighbors about the turbine, along with his planning director and assistant. Suggestions were voiced as to how the city could help, he said, including the possibility of asking Richey to turn off the turbine during the afternoon flicker period.

"I don't know what that entails," Moak said, but added that it seems to be a reasonable request.

The mayor said he's visited Hill Street and the neighborhood but hasn't heard the turbine.

The noise factor varies during the time of day, Moak added, saying neighbors may hear it the most late at night when there is less traffic and background noise.

"I can't dismiss these people's concerns because I haven't heard it," Moak said.