Article - Cape Codder 7/27/2007

By Marilyn Miller

Eastham -

“No matter what they come up with for an acceptable noise level, someone will be annoyed by something. If the town tried to eliminate anything that made noise, we’d have nothing built.”
– Joe Mistretta

Members of the new Wind Turbine Ad Hoc Committee got into the meat of the issues Monday surrounding the town’s controversial proposal to erect wind towers off Nauset Road, a plan that has divided townspeople.
The proposal would have sited up to four commercial wind towers, each 460 feet tall, on 12 acres of town-owned land. That proposal is off the table, and with it went two proposed zoning bylaws to regulate these wind turbines. The two bylaws, one proposed by the town and its energy committee, the other by abutters opposed to the proposal as it stood, were withdrawn from consideration by town meeting in May so that a new zoning bylaw, more palatable to both sides, could be submitted to selectmen.
The committee, led by Tom Reilly, is charged with taking a look at the two original bylaws that were withdrawn and come up with a compromise bylaw to present to selectmen by Oct. 31. Monday’s meeting was the committee’s fourth and it plans to complete the job in nine meetings.
In addition to Reilly, two members of the former energy committee, which has since disbanded, are on it – Brian Eastman, former chairman of that committee, and Joe Mistretta. Other members include Phil Hesse and Andrew Wells, two of the abutters who objected to the proposal; and planning board members Deborah Abbott and Craig Nightingale.
“We are absolutely making progress,” Reilly said after Monday’s meeting, which was attended by Selectwoman Carol Martin and Selectman Martin McDonald, along with Town Administrator Sheila Vanderhoef.
After spending three meetings reviewing both the state zoning bylaw for wind turbines, and the proposed zoning bylaw prepared by Phil Hesse and other abutters to the project, they agreed Monday to start talking about the issues that have divided them: noise, setbacks, and the height of turbines.
“Let’s talk about the issues,” said Wells.
Issues included the shadow flicker from the spinning blades of a wind turbine. In Hull, where a turbine similar to the ones proposed for Eastham is located, Wells said some of the residents in a nearby apartment building facing the turbine have to buy wood blinds to shield their windows from what is “almost like a blinking light coming in.”
Mistretta said that depending on the angle of the sun, turbines can create a flicker effect. “If it is located in an area where this would create a nuisance, you would want to relocate the turbine or not put it there at all,” he said.
Mistretta said it was important not to “generalize” about shadow flicker or noise, that “everything is site specific and each site is different.” Where there might be shadow flicker in one area, there will not be in another.
Wells said noise is another issue that is becoming more of a problem. The town’s proposed bylaw would have limited the noise created by a turbine to 60 decibels. There are studies, he said, that show if a turbine produces 40 decibels of noise, 45 percent of your population will be very annoyed “and that would be hundreds of houses in Eastham.”
“This is worth knowing in creating public policy, and part of what frustrates me is that I feel any town that makes a decision on wind turbines ought to know if it will have a negative impact on a neighborhood,” said Wells.
Mistretta said no matter what they come up with for an acceptable noise level someone will be annoyed by something. “If the town tried to eliminate anything that made noise, we’d have nothing built. We have to look at what is reasonable and makes sense,” he said. “We have to be able to accept some level of annoyance.”
Wells suggested the town consider limiting noise in the bylaw to no more than 3 decibels above the ambient noise of a neighborhood at night, and 5 decibels during the day. This is the standard used in France, he said.
“I don’t think the town should approve of a noise regulation that would guarantee that some people would not be able to get to sleep or would be awakened from sleep,” he said. Such a standard, he said, “does not guarantee that no one will be annoyed, but if you want to have no impact on people, then you’ll not be able to have commercial wind turbines in Eastham.”
By the next meeting on Aug. 3, Wells and Hesse have been asked to come up with proposed wording regarding the noise level for commercial turbines.

	Article - The Cape Codder - 7/27/2007
	Wind turbine committee seeks compromise
	By Marilyn Miller Eastham - “No matter what they come up with for an acceptable noise level, someone will be annoyed by something. If the town tried to eliminate anything that made noise, we’d have nothing built.” – Joe Mistretta Members of the new Wind Turbine Ad Hoc Committee got into the meat of the issues Monday surrounding the town’s controversial proposal to erect wind towers off Nauset Road, a plan that has divided townspeople. The proposal would have sited up to four commercial wind towers, each 460 feet tall, on 12 acres of town-owned land. That proposal is off the table, and with it went two proposed zoning bylaws to regulate these wind turbines. The two bylaws, one proposed by the town and its energy committee, the other by abutters opposed to the proposal as it stood, were withdrawn from consideration by town meeting in May so that a new zoning bylaw, more palatable to both sides, could be submitted to selectmen. The committee, led by Tom Reilly, is charged with taking a look at the two original bylaws that were withdrawn and come up with a compromise bylaw to present to selectmen by Oct. 31. Monday’s meeting was the committee’s fourth and it plans to complete the job in nine meetings. In addition to Reilly, two members of the former energy committee, which has since disbanded, are on it – Brian Eastman, former chairman of that committee, and Joe Mistretta. Other members include Phil Hesse and Andrew Wells, two of the abutters who objected to the proposal; and planning board members Deborah Abbott and Craig Nightingale. “We are absolutely making progress,” Reilly said after Monday’s meeting, which was attended by Selectwoman Carol Martin and Selectman Martin McDonald, along with Town Administrator Sheila Vanderhoef. After spending three meetings reviewing both the state zoning bylaw for wind turbines, and the proposed zoning bylaw prepared by Phil Hesse and other abutters to the project, they agreed Monday to start talking about the issues that have divided them: noise, setbacks, and the height of turbines. “Let’s talk about the issues,” said Wells. Issues included the shadow flicker from the spinning blades of a wind turbine. In Hull, where a turbine similar to the ones proposed for Eastham is located, Wells said some of the residents in a nearby apartment building facing the turbine have to buy wood blinds to shield their windows from what is “almost like a blinking light coming in.” Mistretta said that depending on the angle of the sun, turbines can create a flicker effect. “If it is located in an area where this would create a nuisance, you would want to relocate the turbine or not put it there at all,” he said. Mistretta said it was important not to “generalize” about shadow flicker or noise, that “everything is site specific and each site is different.” Where there might be shadow flicker in one area, there will not be in another. Wells said noise is another issue that is becoming more of a problem. The town’s proposed bylaw would have limited the noise created by a turbine to 60 decibels. There are studies, he said, that show if a turbine produces 40 decibels of noise, 45 percent of your population will be very annoyed “and that would be hundreds of houses in Eastham.” “This is worth knowing in creating public policy, and part of what frustrates me is that I feel any town that makes a decision on wind turbines ought to know if it will have a negative impact on a neighborhood,” said Wells. Mistretta said no matter what they come up with for an acceptable noise level someone will be annoyed by something. “If the town tried to eliminate anything that made noise, we’d have nothing built. We have to look at what is reasonable and makes sense,” he said. “We have to be able to accept some level of annoyance.” Wells suggested the town consider limiting noise in the bylaw to no more than 3 decibels above the ambient noise of a neighborhood at night, and 5 decibels during the day. This is the standard used in France, he said. “I don’t think the town should approve of a noise regulation that would guarantee that some people would not be able to get to sleep or would be awakened from sleep,” he said. Such a standard, he said, “does not guarantee that no one will be annoyed, but if you want to have no impact on people, then you’ll not be able to have commercial wind turbines in Eastham.” By the next meeting on Aug. 3, Wells and Hesse have been asked to come up with proposed wording regarding the noise level for commercial turbines.

Wind turbine committee seeks compromise