CAPE COUNCIL COMPROMISES ON WIND FARM

Published: May 12,2006
CAPE COUNCIL COMPROMISES ON WIND FARM
By JUDE SEYMOUR
TIMES STAFF WRITER
CAPE VINCENT -- The Town Council agreed Thursday to compromise on a wind development project line that would begin 1,000 feet from the town's river district boundary, meaning the first wind turbine could be no closer than 2,600 feet to Route 12E.
The council set a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the zoning regulations for 10 a.m. June 3 at the Cape Vincent Fire Hall.

The agreement was reached after Supervisor Thomas K. Rienbeck advocated a 500-foot boundary from the river district, which would allow the first tower at 2,100 feet, while Councilman Clifford P. Schneider backed a 2,500-foot setback from the river district, which would allow the first tower at 4,100 feet from Route 12E.

"What is so special about that additional piece of land, going from, say, what you're proposing out to about 4,300 feet?" Mr. Schneider said. "I looked at the wind maps, and it certainly isn't the wind."

Councilman Mickey Orvis's offer was just 100 feet more than Mr. Rienbeck's proposal, but the council needed a unanimous vote because Councilmen Marty T. Mason and Joseph H. Wood were notified orally Thursday by the county Board of Ethics that they should abstain from any vote regarding wind turbines, owing to conflicts of interests.

Mr. Mason has given AES/Acciona Wind Energy New York, Rochester, right-of-way access on his land along the regional water line. He said in April that he is still in negotiations with that company for developing other property he owns.

Mr. Wood said he was told he did not have to disclose the Board of Ethics ruling and declined to explain what the board considered to be his precise conflict. He sold his 20 percent interest in the Wood farm, which has a contract for wind rights, in January 2005. But the councilman has immediate and extended relations who benefit financially from the wind power companies.

Mr. Schneider said the community is so polarized and divided about setbacks that any compromise is one "which everyone leaves here with a frown." He added, "If we end up with a hearing in June where some side gets up when we're done and is clapping and cheering, I think we will have failed."

The board also agreed to add two more stipulations to the proposed zoning amendments, as recommended Wednesday by the town Planning Board.

"We want in the law a separate thing that says there will be a fee per tower," Planning Board Chairman Richard J. Edsall said. "You're not specifying the fee. We'll come up with that later. And the second one is that we say that it is 1,000 feet from a property line that's not participating."

Property owners who allow the erection of a tower on their property must ensure it is at least 1,000 feet from any neighbor who is not participating in the development.

"I want that 1,000 feet on the property line, because that keeps good neighbors," Mr. Edsall said.

Todd R. Hopper, the AES/Acciona project manager, supported the additional two stipulations. He also told councilmen, "We're not going to start construction until we have permission to connect." The project manager predicted the first turbine would not be constructed and operational in Cape Vincent until the fall of 2008.

The council also received a petition from Frank J. Giaquinto; the Route 12E resident claimed 322 residents signed the document, which advocated a setback of 1,600 feet from Route 12E.

"I think the town is overwhelmingly in favor of having them and having a reasonable setback," he said.