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Dartmouth seeks $9.5 million for wind turbines

South Coast Today|Curt Brown|January 25, 2010
MassachusettsGeneral

Town Meeting is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on whether to appropriate $9.5 million for two wind turbines, which will be located on town-owned land near the water filtration plant off Chase Road. ...Town officials say the project's financial benefits ...are enormous. Neighbors feel otherwise.


DARTMOUTH - Town Meeting is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on whether to appropriate $9.5 million for two wind turbines, which will be located on town-owned land near the water filtration plant off Chase Road.

Also on the three-article warrant is a proposal to rezone 7½ acres of Padanaram Village to create the Padanaram Village Business District. Voters also will consider whether to accept a provision of Massachusetts General Laws, requiring the mandatory transfer of retired town employees to the Medicare program.

The special Town Meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Dartmouth High School auditorium.

The Finance Committee is recommending passage of all three articles. The wind turbine article is expected to be the most controversial.

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DARTMOUTH - Town Meeting is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on whether to appropriate $9.5 million for two wind turbines, which will be located on town-owned land near the water filtration plant off Chase Road.

Also on the three-article warrant is a proposal to rezone 7½ acres of Padanaram Village to create the Padanaram Village Business District. Voters also will consider whether to accept a provision of Massachusetts General Laws, requiring the mandatory transfer of retired town employees to the Medicare program.

The special Town Meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Dartmouth High School auditorium.

The Finance Committee is recommending passage of all three articles. The wind turbine article is expected to be the most controversial.

The Select Board approved a permit for two 328-foot turbines earlier this month, after hearing several hours of testimony.

Town officials say the project's financial benefits - the combination of electricity savings, the sale of excess of electricity back to regional provider NStar and the sale of Renewable Energy credits, minus the debt service and the operation and maintenance of the turbines - are enormous.

Neighbors feel otherwise.

About 50 residents in the Chase Road area vigorously oppose the project, saying their property values will drop, while also complaining about noise, the flicker effect caused by the rotating blades, the height of the towers and their proximity to a residential district.

The neighbors have not ruled out the possibility of litigation to stop the project.
Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration ruled that one of the towers - the north turbine - is a hazard to air traffic at New Bedford Regional Airport and must be lowered.

Both turbines measure 462 feet from the tip of the blade to the ground, and the FAA has recommended lowering the north tower to 417 feet.

The FAA has not made a decision on the south turbine.

Meanwhile, the Planning Board is recommending changing the zoning for 7½ acres along Elm Street from Seaward Lane to the yacht club from a limited business district to the Padanaram Business District.

The idea is to preserve the village character and to make it more business-friendly by expanding the permitted uses and greatly reducing parking requirements, according to Donald Perry, the town's planning director.

Some of the new uses include boat repairs, bed and breakfast establishments, art galleries, museums and aquaculture, and assisted living for people over 55 by special permit.


Source:http://www.southcoasttoday.co…

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