City wind turbine law breezes through vote

WORCESTER - The city now has in place new zoning laws to further the development and use of wind turbines.

The City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a zoning amendment that expands provisions governing wind turbines, and allowing by right small wind facilities - a rotor diameter of 20 feet or less and no taller than 95 feet - in business/general, manufacturing and institutional districts, and by special permit from the Planning Board in residential and business/office districts.

Meanwhile, large wind turbines, which have a rotor diameter greater than 20 feet and no higher overall than 265 feet, would require a special permit in all zoning districts.

The zoning amendment also allows large utility-scale wind turbines taller than 265 feet to be considered by the Planning Board through a waiver process.

Currently, wind turbines require a special permit from the Planning Board for any location in the city.

Joel J. Fontane, director of the city's Division of Planning and Regulatory Services, said the zoning amendment is intended to balance the need for encouraging renewable energy while maintaining the quality of life in the city.

He emphasized that the zoning amendment meets two of the five criteria necessary for the city to be designated a "green community" by the state.

Such a designation makes the city eligible to compete for grants under the Green Communities Program administered by the state Department of Energy Resources.

To qualify as a green community, the city has to meet the following two requirements:

•Provide an as-of-right siting of renewable or alternative energy generating facilities, renewable or alternative energy research and development facilities, or renewable or alternative energy manufacturing facilities in designated locations.

•Establish expedited application and permitting for the siting of those energy facilities, not to exceed one year from the date of the initial application to the date of final approval.

"(The zoning amendment) meets this criterion by allowing as-of-right siting of research and development facilities and manufacturing facilities related to renewable or alternative energy in appropriate zones throughout the city," Mr. Fontane said. "It also provides for an expedited permitting process."

Before giving final approval to the zoning amendment, the council referred to its Economic Development Committee a petition filed by Richard Kerver, a local environmental advocate, who asked that the height restriction for wind turbines be increased to 450 feet.

He said the additional 185 feet would more than triple the economic value of wind turbines sited in the city.

But Mr. Fontane pointed out that wind turbines taller than 265 feet can still be sited in the city through a waiver process. He said the amendment does not preclude the construction of the kind of wind turbines Mr. Kerver has talked about.