Thursday, September 22, 2011

WIND LAW

VERSUS

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

A Comprehensive Plan is a guide or blueprint for the physical development of an area or region over a specified period of time.
Cape Vincent has a comp plan our comprehensive plan provides that for the area of the Town where the industrial wind projects are proposed, it clearly states the uses to be discourages are "Location of towers, prisons or utility facilities where there [sic] impact would have a negative impact on scenic vistas and tourism assets" while at the same time, the uses to be encouraged are " Agriculture. Development that has minimum impact on important resources such as scenic natural vistas, working landscapes and tourism assets." This dovetails with the law itself, who's stated purpose is, among other things, to "encourage the development of land for its most appropriate use within the town, and to conserve and protect the rural, agricultural, and scenic resources of the Town..." and, specifically the intent of the Agricultural residential district is to Promote all types of development in the interior portions of the town in a manner that provides the rural character and promotes active farming operations."

Industrial wind development does neither. However, the interpretation that the only legally defensible position is that they are not permitted under the comprehensive plan may not hold water.

why we must develop a strong wind law.

A comprehensive management plan for a jurisdiction, such as a township or municipality, can be developed to serve as a guide to plan for future development, including prospects to develop wind energy. The subsequent zoning decisions must then be consistent with the municipality’s comprehensive management plan (Salkin and Donohue, 2005). Developing a comprehensive management plan to support zoning ordinances and community planning will help to identify and address community concerns about wind energy development early in the community planning process. Additionally, zoning ordinances specific to wind energy development may be developed in combination with or in lieu of a comprehensive plan for a jurisdiction.However, although zoning ordinances can regulate development if adopted prior to project construction, even special zoning provisions may not necessarily entirely prevent wind energy development from occurring (Salkin and Donohue, 2005). In some instances, other laws governing the zoning and use of private land may supersede the zoning ordinances pertaining specifically to wind energy development. Agriculture operations in particular may be regulated under a specific agricultural law which supersedes the zoning decisions that would ordinarily prohibit wind energy development in an area. Many agricultural laws may have specific zoning codes promoting agricultural operations, including the construction of auxiliary wind energy facilities (Salkin and Donohue, 2005). For example, there are specific agricultural district laws in New York which allow for wind energy development exploration and development, effectively superseding any local zoning ordinance which may prohibit development (Salkin and Donohue, 2005). In New York , zoning ordinances are superseded by the agricultural district law because it was determined that the zoning ordinance unreasonably restricted farm operations within the agricultural districts (Salkin and Donohue, 2005). New York is also a state where high potential for wind energy development is observed in many areas statewide, as well as a state where wind farms have been and continue to be proposed on agricultural land.

Sources:




Link here to read Wind Energy Development in the United States:Applying the Nuisance Argument to Address Impacts to Visual Values


Link here to read Cape Vincent Town Village ~ Comprehensive Plan 2003

link here to read Town of Cape Vincent Zoning Law

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Many agricultural laws may have specific zoning codes promoting agricultural operations, including the construction of auxiliary wind energy facilities."

I think some could argue that commercial wind development does not promote agricultural operations, but instead hinders agricultural production. The obvious example is the loss of land to turbine installations, but more importantly, some farmers may have given up farming altogether once their wind payments begin to flow. They may also shift to less intensive use of their land, such as quitting dairy operations in lieu of selling a hay crop. It would be useful to see what has happened to farm operations and land use for landowners who now participate in commercial wind projects.

Anonymous said...

The boundaries of our Agricultural Districts need to be reexamined.

Anonymous said...

The farmers don't lose their subsidies or their tax breaks for turning their land into wind farms. Maybe that's what they're even called wind farms. I also read where even if you sell your land you get to keep the lease revenue. These laws were all formed in Texas and seem to have become law of the land, so to speak. Every law I read gives corporations more power than the land owners. However, landowners also have more rights than you may expect as well. As long as they don't try to impede the corporations. Still, if no construction has begun within 5 years of lease signing, the contract is void.Even so, if no electricity is generated into the national grid, they become void in 7 years. That's the law as well. That's all in the energy bill. Subsidies come from the "stimulus" package". I think that's like political Viagra. It stimulates elections. Eventually the effect wears off and the economy becomes impotent again.

Anonymous said...

It is becoming more and more obvious that the towns where wind development has made strong inroads are towns with no or minimal zoning (or blatantly unenforced zoning, as in Cape Vincent) and where the historic antipathy for zoning from local agricultural interests has been a dominant influence in town government.

Is there still reason to tolerate that agricultural antipathy for zoning? I don’t think so. Farming is not the economic or political center of gravity in many of NY’s rural towns that it once was. So called “Agricultural Districts” are now clearly mixed-use. That is particularly true for the towns along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario.

Some NY towns have changed the zoning law name and definition of their “Agricultural Districts” to “Agricultural-Residential Districts.” Isn’t it time for such a re-designation (in name, law and attitude) in, for example, Cape Vincent’s zoning law?