New Windsor board to discuss next step

NEW WINDSOR - The Town Board is getting widely differing advice on how to regulate wind turbines.

The Orange County Planning Department, which reviewed the town's proposed law governing wind energy conversion systems, advised the town to strictly adhere to the terms in that document.

But some speakers at a public hearing Wednesday night - and a letter from Orange County Legislator Chris Eachus, who represents part of New Windsor - urged the board to reconsider some provisions that seem too restrictive.

Supervisor George Green said he'll run all the comments by the town's infrastructure committee, which helped draft the law, and then the board will discuss what it wants to do.

Eachus and resident George Chaleff both said the 3-acre minimum lot size for having a wind turbine at your home seemed excessive, especially since some government grants require only 1 acre.

Chaleff - who owns a green business and wants to put up a turbine both to power his home and to serve as a demonstrator model for potential turbine buyers - prompted the proposed law when he applied for a permit to erect one last year. The town has no law on its books that covers turbines.

Wind now accounts for less than 1 percent of the energy consumed in the state, according to the New York Independent System Operator. But its supporters hope it will see increased use as people look for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Green said he agreed with some points, such as Chaleff's request to eliminate a requirement that the pole the turbine is mounted on be fenced off. Green said he could see dropping that requirement as long as the pole is not scaleable.

Green seemed less likely to give on things like the 3-acre limit and requiring that turbines be set back 1.5 times their height from neighboring properties. Those provisions are meant to protect neighbors, he said.

"It would be virtually impossible ... to get one of these on a 1-acre lot with a proper fall zone," Green said.