Proposed Wind Farm: Hamlin, NY, part 2

On Thursday, April 10th, 2008, I attended a public hearing on the Hamlin town board's proposed wind tower regulations.  This is the second public hearing (here's a link to part 1) on this issue that I've attended, and both were emotionally-charged affairs.  The majority of the residents who had signed up to have their say in Thursday's hearing were in opposition to having a windmill farm in the town of Hamlin.  Citing the need to "preserve the town's rural character", more than one resident expressed the opinion that a windmill farm would transform the largely rural town into an "industrial area".   Others, in essence, accused the town board of having a vested financial interest in the project or of being intimidated by the windmill company or by the threat of lawsuits brought on by landowners who have already entered into agreements with the said company.

The most impassioned pleas came from some of the residents who would live directly in the area where the towers would go up.  The biggest point of contention is the town board's proposal that windmills have a minimum setback of 1,200 feet from any residence and 600 feet from any roadway or property line.  Paul Carr, a professor of engineering management at Cornell University, called those distances "dangerously inadequate", citing the dangerous prospect of ice chunks being flung far off the blades or the possibility of a blade breaking.  He expressed the opinion that "setbacks for these towers should be at least four times the height of a tower."  Thus, if the height of the tower was 400 feet tall, then the setback should be at least 1,600 feet.  Many residents of the town are pushing for a setback of 1,700 feet, not from the residence, but rather from the property line.  Other concerns raised were things like light flicker, sound pollution, aesthetic issues and how that might impact home owners' property values, and general concerns about health and well-being.

With many waving signs that read "1,700 foot property line setbacks" and "Protect the People", the message conveyed by the majority of the residents who spoke at the hearing was pretty clear---we don't want a windmill farm in our town.  So, were there any in attendance who spoke in favor of the prospect of windmills in Hamlin?  Yes, there were a few...and by a few I mean about four out of the thirty-plus people who chose to speak.  One man cited the fact that government subsidies wind power and that it may help ease the tax burden for the town's residents.  The same gentleman also stated that if people were so concerned about bats flying into the blades of a windmill, then they should also try to ban things such as trees, barns and cats' mouths, which have also been known to cause the demise of many a bat. 

Overall, this issue has been a divisive one for the residents of Hamlin---many homeowners have placed signs in their front yards, either in support of windmills, or in opposition to them.  The wind-friendly signs I've seen read "Clean and Green", whereas the opposition posts signs that read "kNOw windmills".  This is a big issue to wrap my head around, so this is the second post in a series of four regarding this issue at this particular juncture.  Keep checking over the next two weeks for additional posts on windmills in Hamlin, NY.

Comments

[Nancy]

Wonder if your picture is to scale?

[Steven]

Believe it or not, Nancy---yes. As a matter of scale, the Statue of Liberty is 300 feet tall, whereas the proposed windmills stand 400 feet tall. Hard to imagine, isn't it?