Many are finding the going tough in their attempts to have a windmill constructed on their property. We are taking a closer look at the growing pains facing homeowners when it comes to this wind harnessing device.
Gary Thompson has a dilemma. He wants to put a windmill on his property in back of his Route 11 business – Parties, Picnics and Promotion. He’s done his homework and says it’s a prime spot too. “There is always a breeze through here – I wanted to take advantage of it and I thought the windmill would be the best way,” Thompson says. But he has been denied by the town because the site would be located too close to other buildings he plans to construct. This all comes at a time when an increasing number of homeowners, looking to take advantage of hefty tax credits, are filing permits to build windmills.
“You want to go green … But I don’t think many townships are ready to go green,” Thompson says. Many townships in the U.S. regulate the type and size of structures erected in their jurisdiction. Each township can have its own regulations.
A special-use permit is usually the easiest path to take to gain planning permission approval for a windmill erection. Many towns may not have rules regarding windmills and therefore a special-use permit cannot be obtained. Then an area variance or a zoning variance must be obtained. So one problem might be your local town board but we are aware of many other stories of huge problems which applicants have encountered in the past to obtain a permit for a windmill on their private property.
Many obstacles set by local regulations may need to be overcome but the biggest problem to achieve a final permit issued is actually the approval of your neighbours. Following the presentation of your proposed windmill to the township planning office, the floor is open to the community at large. The major concerns expressed by potential neighbours can be as follows.
* A windmill would kill many birds.
* A windmill would be a constant noise upsetting the peace of the neighbourhood.
* A windmill would lower property values.
* A windmill would ruin the character of the neighbourhood.
* Trespassing children would attempt to climb the windmill’s metal pipe tower and kill themselves.
* The local power utility already provided electricity. Therefore, you should not be allowed to have a windmill because it was unnecessary.
A number of experts recommend letting your neighbours know about your windmill plans early in the process. It can take months and hundreds of hours and sleepless nights to get an approval to erect a windmill on your property. To overcome the biggest problem from opposition from neighbours, educating them early in the process about windmills helps to avoid dis-information and reduces the risk of neighbours opposing to your application. From our perspective, many of neighbours’ fears are not based on fact. Much of the opposition is often due to the attitude of “not in my backyard” mentality.
Now, even after having obtained a permit and your windmill had been erected, further problems can occur. The ruling of Planning Boards consists of documents outlining exactly what you have to do to comply with their rules. In addition, after your windmill is erected, it is often the case that sound measurements must be taken. If the windmill creates more noise at the nearest property line than the ambient night time noise, you might be forced to remove the windmill.
We want to hear from you about your experience in applying for a permit for the construction of a windmill. If you had an application denied which in your opinion was unjust or encountered resistance from your neighbours who successfully objected to your application, then please let us know and post your comments below. We will be able to point you in the right direction to get help and achieve a permit even after your town-board had already denied through an appeal. We know of applicants who had taken their town board to court and achieved a ruling in their favour on the fact that their town-board had no legal basis to deny the erection of a windmill.
