Send lawyers, guns and money
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
When the Cape Vincent Zoning Board of Appeals affirmed Monday night its decision to require that Roger D. Alexander tear down the windmill he built on his property, it might as well have sent e-mails out to every lawyer in the county that a lawsuit is a-comin'.
Mr. Alexander, you'll remember, went to the town zoning enforcement officer with his plan, asking for guidance and a permit to erect the 90-foot tower. He got a permit in May, and it was renewed in August. And he built his windmill. And then spit hit the blades.
The howl was made by Mr. Alexander's neighbors, and the Zoning Board of Appeals apparently heard them loud and clear, because it not just once, but twice, rescinded the permits and will tell Mr. Alexander to remove his windmill. His, ahem, $80,000 windmill.
I suppose I understand the neighbors' positions. (I do, however, hope these neighbors have never sported pro-wind-farm signs on their lawns.) But it occurs to me that perhaps complaining after the tower was up might weaken the neighbors' position.
And it would seem almost a given that Mr. Alexander will have to resort to the courts to try to protect his not insignificant investment. He did not, after all, defy the rule of law. He did everything by the book. Now the town is telling him our fault, your loss. Does that seem fair to anyone?
Lots of planning boards and zoning boards of appeal get sued, but many of them prevail. The ones that lose are the ones that made egregious errors in their rulings. At least on the surface, it looks as though Cape Vincent ought to buckle its seat belt — it could be in for a bumpy ride.
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