Future of Bog Wind project up in the air after bylaw change
The Bog Wind project could be impacted by Town Meeting’s decision last week to repeal the town’s bylaw on Wind Energy Facilities, town attorney Rich Bowen told voters at Town Meeting on Tuesday.
When Town Meeting repealed the bylaw on May 24, Bowen said the project will be protected since it is already before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Bowen explained this week, however, that since the Bog Wind developer did not file the proposal with the state Registry of Deeds, it could be impacted by the bylaw change.
"There is doubt if the current applicant is grandfathered" under the now-repealed bylaw. Bowen told Town Meeting voters. “If the applicant took all the necessary steps, the project would have been grandfathered in.”
Bowen said he wanted to inform voters of his finding in the event they would like to reconsider the vote to repeal the bylaw.
Despite the new information, voters chose not to reconsider the vote.
The Wind Energy Facilities bylaw, created in 2006, was repealed with the stipulation that a Wind Energy Review Committee be formed. The group is charged with writing and presenting recommendations on wind energy and wind turbines at spring Town Meeting of 2012. However, the committee’s work will not result in a new bylaw to be voted on at that time -- leaving the town without a permitting process for wind turbines until at least the fall of 2012.
The seven-member study committee will consist of two citizens-at-large, the Town Planner, one member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, one member of the Conservation Commission, one member of the Board of Assessors, and the Director of Inspectional Services.
“I think we need to take a step back,” Brenda Eckstrom, who petitioned to have the article added to the warrant, argued on May 24. “Let's have our professionals and volunteers do an analysis to review [wind energy and wind turbines] and make an educated decision.”
When the article to repeal the bylaw was first discussed, Eckstrom told voters that it was not aimed at a specific project.
The Bog Wind proposal has been controversial since it was first introduced last year. The original plan called for the construction of eight turbines in various areas, but the project was twice scaled back amidst residents' concerns. The plan now calls for the construction of two wind turbines on Charge Pond Road cranberry bogs.
Bog Wind developer Glen Berkowitz could not be immediately reached for comment.