October 1, 2010
Maine
Towns consider holds on wind, cell towers
By Rich Hewitt, BDN Staff, Bangor Daily News, www.bangordailynews.com 30 September 2010
BROOKSVILLE, Maine — Two more towns in the Blue Hill Peninsula area are considering moratoriums on the
construction of communication or wind towers.
Earlier this year, a number of towns enacted moratoriums on either cell phone towers or wind turbines; some
targeted both. Now, voters in the neighboring towns of Brooksville and Sedgwick will weigh in on the matter.
Brooksville selectmen have scheduled a special town meeting to vote on the issue for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, at the
Community Building. Sedgwick selectmen have placed a town vote on a moratorium ordinance on the ballot for the
November election. They will hold a public hearing on the question at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7 at the town house.
The focus of the two towns is different. Brooksville’s moratorium will target communication towers. In Sedgwick,
the ordinance is aimed at wind power development.
According to Sedgwick Selectman Nelson Grindal, the call for a moratorium on wind power development came
through a petition from residents.
Although there are no pending proposals for wind power development in town, Grindal noted that a local group has
been researching the potential for local wind power and has installed an anemometer to track wind speeds in an area
off the Old County Road. The petition cites the sudden “threat of increased development pressure from wind power
developments” and notes the lack of town ordinances to adequately assess issues of safety, land-use compatibility
and “visual access to view corridors.”
The moratorium would put a six-month hold on any construction or review of wind power development proposals to
allow time for the town to develop and adopt a wind turbine ordinance. If voters approve it, the moratorium would
become effective immediately upon its adoption.
In Brooksville, the situation is a little more complicated. Voters will act on two moratorium proposals, both of
which target communication towers. One proposal was developed by the selectmen based on an informal petition
from residents. The second proposed moratorium came from petitioners who, according to Selectman John Gray,
wanted something “with more teeth in it.”
The key difference in the two proposals is the retroactive date they would become effective. According to Gray,
under the selectmen’s proposal, the moratorium would become effective Aug. 4. The competing measure would
apply to communications towers that were not completed and operating as of July 1.
“We didn’t have any cell phone towers up and running at that time,” Gray said, referring to the July 1 date.
However, two companies have since been working on projects at separate sites in town, one on Town House Road,
the other on Ferry Road. Neither required town permits for construction of the towers, because the town has no
ordinance to govern development outside of the shoreland zone. The Town House Road project did require a permit
for a road entrance, which is what brought it to the attention of residents, according to Gray.
It is unclear at this point whether the town has the authority to impose a moratorium retroactively.
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/01/towns-consider-holds-on-wind-cell-towers/print/
Selectmen initially had proposed placing the question on the November ballot, but the second petition specifically
called for a special town meeting.
Voters will vote on both proposals on Monday.
“There will be a yes-or-no vote,” Gray said. “They’ll vote on both moratorium proposals. The one with the most yes
votes will be enacted.”
Both moratorium questions require the town to develop a communication tower ordinance that would regulate the
siting and construction of those towers in town. In the event both moratorium questions are rejected by voters, the
selectmen have included a separate warrant article asking voters if they want the town to develop an ordinance on
commercial communication towers.
Although the moratorium questions deal only with communication towers, a final article on the warrant asks voters
if they want the town to develop a separate ordinance to regulate wind turbines.
This article is provided as a service of National Wind Watch, Inc.
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/
The use of copyrighted material is protected by Fair Use.
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/01/towns-consider-holds-on-wind-cell-towers/print/