Public Present
Anna Demeo, College of the Atlantic; and George Davis
Board Members Present
Sandy Andrews; Ellen Brawley, Chair; and Robert Ho
Kim Keene, CEO; Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
I. The meeting was called to order at 4:07 p.m.
It was confirmed that the workshop notice was published in the November 10, 2010 Bar Harbor Times.
II. Workshop: For proposed Land Use & Shoreland Zoning Ordinances & Zoning Map amendments for May 2011 Town Meeting.
Ms. Keene began the workshop by discussing the email regarding stormwater wording that Mr. Brochu drafted. After discussion, the board approved the following changes to 6A.7:
• 2. Applicability.
o Remove “For development on all lots that are within 75 feet of a water body and where drainage is towards the water body or” and “shoreland”.
o Add …“which shows that stormwater runoff has been minimized and will not excessively exceed natural predevelopment conditions. In the event that the proposed project includes on site stormwater conveyance structures evidence, will be provided that insures that these structures have been sized properly and can handle anticipated flows. In the event that a development discharges storm flows into any off site conveyance and or control system, evidence will be provided that the off-site systems can handle the anticipated flows without resulting in any adverse conditions. (see Code Enforcement Officer for example of Stormwater plan).”
• 3. Stormwater plan required. Reworded to read: “For development on all lots that are within 75 feet of a water body and where drainage is towards the water body, or on slopes of 25% or greater, or drain to a Town, State or Local roadway drainage system, the applicant shall submit a site plan that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer that the project will comply with this stromwater standard.”
• 4. Vegetated buffer. To the first sentence “The lot” changed to “Lots”, “a” removed before “vegetated”, “buffers whenever possible” added. Third sentence replace “need” with “must”.
• 4.d. Buffer alternatives. Add “or Maine Registered Professional Engineer” after Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District.
• 5. Natural Drainage. Add “and that proper erosion control and stabilization measures are installed at the inlets and outlets.” to the end of the paragraph.
• 6. Directing sheet flow to buffers. Add “where ever possible” to the end of the first sentence.
• 9. Modifications. Add “or Maine Registered Professional Engineer” after Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The ordinance changes presented on October 25th were reviewed and discussed. Ms. Keene went over the agreed upon the changes and also brought up additional suggestions which are bold and underlined in the attached LUZO Sections 2, 3, and 4 as suggested or required by the State Department of Environmental Protection.
III. Other Business
Wind Energy Ordinance
Anna Demeo, College of the Atlantic (COA), asked the town to develop a wind energy ordinance for presentation at the town meeting in May. She pointed out that Mount Desert is one of the few towns in the area not actively pursuing a Wind Energy Ordinance. Under the town’s current ordinances a wind turbine is considered a structure and can be no more than 40 feet in height. At this height, the production of kilowatts generated is very low since the turbine’s capability of catching the higher powered winds is restricted. The payback on the cost of installing a wind turbine is usually between 8 and 18 years, but at the restricted height it would be more like 100 years. Ms. Demeo cited a couple of examples located on the island of turbines installed at appropriate heights: The Coast Guard is housing
a 70 ft tower and Pemetic School has a 60 ft tower on its roof.
Mr. Andrews said that he thinks it is a good idea but that summer visitors might not want to “see” the wind turbines and would view them as an eyesore to the natural beauty. Ms. Demeo said that the COA is advocating the small to medium scale wind turbines and these turbines have a low profile.
Ms. Brawley didn’t think there would be time to get an ordinance ready for this year (2011), but that next year (2012) is doable. Ms. Keene thought that perhaps the Planning Board could look at the Wind Energy ordinances of similar towns to draft something. Ms. Demeo said that the college has examples of Wind Energy ordinances from other towns for residential, small business, and school use. These ordinances address small to medium wind turbines. Mr. Ho suggested that Ms. Demeo provide the board with three examples of ordinances from comparable towns. She agreed to do this.
Mr. Andrews pointed out the issue of code enforcement and the means to enforce a very technical ordinance. He said the town doesn’t have a noise ordinance and could foresee that this could be an issue. Ms. Demeo said that the medium turbines have a noise level of 60 decibels which is equivalent to light traffic 100 feet away. Ms. Keene said she would address the issues on the basis of complaints. She has not received noise complaints for the turbine on the COA’s Beech Hill farm.
Mr. Davis of Otter Creek brought up the issue of wind farms in Texas killing birds. Ms. Demeo explained the difference between the birds having to navigate the large wind farms as compared to the small to medium single towers. The kill rate of these smaller turbines is approximately equivalent to birds flying into a window, which is very low. Ms. Brawley said that it is the large turbines that get the media attention.
Zoning of Otter Creek Commercial District
Mr. Davis, resident of Otter Creek, suggested that he and other residents go house to house to garner opinions on the current status of commercial zoning in Otter Creek. He would like to take a board approved letter outlining the current status along with a few suggestions of options and let the residents voice their opinions. He would then present a summary of the opinions to the board. Board members agreed that this would be useful information and that they would be willing to look at a draft of a letter once Mr. Davis had composed it.
Limitation on Roofs
Mr. Davis then brought up the silver roof that Mr. Katz installed on his house and stated that it is glaringly obvious from the top of Cadillac Mt. Mr. Davis suggested that the Board think about putting a condition on the types of roofs people can put on their structures so that they blend in with the natural surroundings.
Shoreland Zoning
Ms. Keene said that Noel Musson will be writing shoreland zoning wording so that it is ready to present to the BOS at the December 6th meeting.
IV. Meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m. The next scheduled meeting/public hearing(s) is at 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 8, 2010 in the Meeting Room, Town Hall, Northeast Harbor.
Respectfully submitted,
Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
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