They’re not saying they don’t want wind power.
But the Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday issued a list of concerns about proposed regulations that would allow wind turbines to be built in light industrial zoned areas.
The major concern: That the regulations would leave the commission with little discretion when unwanted applications come before it.
“In some instances, the commission may not be able to adequately protect the public health, safety and welfare of its residents,” said Anthony Panico, the city’s zoning consultant.
Background
The new regulations have been proposed by a Torrington-based company called Optiwind, which has been retained by Shelton company MBI Inc. to possibly install new kinds of wind turbines at its Parrott Drive plant.
The only problem is the city doesn’t have any regulations pertaining to wind turbines.
So Optiwind has proposed a regulation change that would allow wind turbines to be placed in light industrial zones if the application is awarded a special permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Tuesday, the topic was discussed at length at the second scheduled public hearing on the proposal.
At the first public hearing last month, residents expressed concerns about the noise, safety and aesthetics of the wind turbines, which are different from the traditional wind mill.
Tuesday, the commission said the proposal wasn’t consistent with the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development because the light industrial zones are close to residential areas.
Rebuttal
Optiwind project manager Matthew Speck said his reading of the Plan of Conservation and Development supported his proposal.
The plan stresses the strain on traditional energy sources in the region, and says Shelton should support “green energy strategies,” Speck said.
Speck asked the commission to extend the public hearing until its next meeting on July 14 so he could have more time to digest the commission’s statement and offer more arguments.
The commission, in its written statement, said it would rather see wind energy come to Shelton through a zone-change process, rather than a special permitting process, as currently proposed.
“As a zone change, the commission would retain full and complete control and be able to exercise total discretion in deciding on the merits of the proposal,” Panico said.