Special Permits Wind Turbines

§ 240-10 Moratorium on permits for windmills.

Chapter 240:

ZONINGArticle II:Building Permit Moratoria§ 240-6through § 240-9. (Reserved)§ 240-10Moratorium on permits for windmills.

(Reserved) § 240-10 Moratorium on permits for windmills.

[Amended ATM 4-2-2012, Art. 7, approved 7-17-2012]

The provisions of the Zoning Bylaw to the contrary notwithstanding, no building permit or special permit for the construction of a windmill, as defined, shall issue until May 1, 2013, or until this article is repealed by a vote of Town Meeting, whichever occurs first.

The purpose of this article is to provide the time necessary to study noise, vibration, shadow and other issues associated with the location of this use near residential neighborhoods.

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Article XXXIV:Wind Energy Systems

[Added ATM 4-8-2013, Art. 7, approved 7-9-2013[1]][1]:

Editor’s Note: This article also repealed former Art. XXXIV, Windmills, added STM 9-10-1981, Art. 50.

Chapter 240:

ZONINGArticle XXXIV:

Wind Energy Systems§ 240-166

Purpose; special permits; prohibitions; definitions; application requirements; review; decision; conditions.§ 240-166Purpose; special permits; prohibitions; definitions; application requirements; review; decision; conditions.A.

Purpose: The purposes of this bylaw are: to accommodate wind energy systems as accessory land uses to supplement the power used by residents, municipal government bodies and businesses; and to provide standards for the placement, design, construction, monitoring, modification and removal of wind energy systems through a special permitting process based on the procedures, provisions and requirements established herein.

B. Wind energy systems allowed with limitations. Any provisions or requirements of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, wind energy system as defined shall only be constructed or modified through a special permit issued by the Planning Board as the Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA), (NOTE: See § 3 of Chapter 40A GL for agricultural, religious and educational exemptions.) subject to the following limitations:(1) Small wind energy systems (SWES) may be permitted in Single Residence A and AA, Agricultural A and AA, Business 2, Public Use, Light Industrial Zoning Districts, as further specified herein.(2) Large wind energy systems (LWES) may be permitted in Public Use or Light Industrial Zoning Districts, as further specified herein.(3) WES may only be permitted when accessory to a principal land use.C. Wind energy systems prohibited.

Any provisions or requirements of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, no wind energy system as defined shall be constructed, or modified and no special permit shall issue for any wind energy system under this bylaw:

(1) That has a rated capacity greater than 250 kilowatts in any zoning district.

(2) That is not an accessory land use, as defined herein.

(3) Where the primary use of the facility is electrical generation to be sold to the power grid or accounted for through net metering.D. Exceptions. Any provisions or requirements of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding:

(1) Any WES lawfully in existence as of the effective date of this article shall be considered conforming and may apply for a special permit under this article to alter, modify, re-locate, or otherwise make improvements consistent with Article XXXIV (34).E. Definitions. Section 240-13 notwithstanding, the following terms shall have the following meanings: