S.T.A.R.T.

Lyme wind law petition ruled invalid

scott — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:01:40 +0000

Chaumont - State appellate judges sided Wednesday with a lower court in determining that 10 lyme town residents presented a valid petition last year to require a supermajority to pass a wind energy facilty law.
The petition was signed by residents who thought the town zoning law had “excessive” setback requirements that stifled development of wind power. But the board rejected it after concluding the signers did not represent 20 percent or more of the total acreage in the town.
State Supreme Court Judge Hugh A. Gilbert disagreed with the boards contention that two signatures on a jointly owned parcel were required to include that acreage.
“We believe that it is sufficient for only one spouse to sign the petition,” Appellate Judge John V. Centra wrote in affirmation of Mr. Gilberts decision.
The board passed its zoning law by a 3-2 vote. The court has invalidated that action, saying the residents petition triggers a four vote requirement to pass the law.
(I had suggested a petition at the last meeting of START at the firehall. You were going to send it out by mail to all the START members and leaseholders but I never recieved it. I believe from looking at the map at the firehall we should have at least 20 percent of total acreage in the town owned by lease signers. My question can we submit the signatures on wind leases to the town board and can the leases be used like a petition (ask gary to find out from a lawyer). Next we would need to find the total acreage of the lease holders (ask gary for acreage totals) and the total acreage of the town of Machias to see if its above 20 percent. Im hoping that would take care of the setback issue..Ive been studying it for weeks. I feel its our only hope with that.
Im trying to work on the DB issue with sound..I might be on to something with that to..Ive been working on that everynight. If I have something I will message it or bring it to the next meeting.
Scott Anderson
anderscot5@yahoo.com

SPARKS ON MACHIAS WIND PROJECT

sparks — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:21:50 +0000

ANYBODY READ THE NEWS EVERYBODY’S COLUMN RECENTLY REGARDING THE WIND TURBINE INDUSTRY? IT SEEMS THAT THE WRITER WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE THE DR. NINA PIERPONT STUDY BUT, I BELIEVE THAT IT ONLY INCLUDED 10 FAMILIES. THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE MUCH OF A STUDY. ALSO, I BELIEVE TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES IS TO SHOW THAT IF THE 6000 TURBINES THAT WERE BUILT IN DENMARK WEREN’T THERE THAT THEY WOULD BE BURNING MUCH MORE COAL THAN THE SAME AMOUNT AS IN 1999. ANOTHER REASON FOR AN INFORMED PERSON. NUMBERS CAN INDEED BE USED TO REPRESENT MOST ANY THING.

proposal to add to By laws

Pattij — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:12:53 +0000

sponsored guest are welcome to attend a maximum of 2 meeting before submitting a application for membership.Membership applications may be submetted @ a START meeting or mailed to START @ P.O.Box 432,Machias N.Y.14101.A completed and approved application is necessary for a individual to attend a third and all future START meetings

START Hosts CCIDA

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:25:49 +0000

On June 1st and 2nd, START will be hosting an open meeting with guests from the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA). This meeting will be focusing on the role the CCIDA may have in wind projects in our county. Please click here for more details.

June 1st- Machias Fire Hall, Route 16, Machias, NY 6:30-8:30pm
June 2nd-Pioneer Middle School, 12132 Old Olean Rd, Yorkshire, NY 6:30-8:30pm

START Officers Named, By-Laws and Membership Applications Finalized

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:12:31 +0000

Congratulations to the following members of START who have been named as officers:

Co-Chairperson: Brian Rieman
Co-Chairperson: John Noto
Secretary: Pat Sherwood
Treasurer: Phil Andreozzi
Membership Coordinator:
Media/Data Coodinator: Patti Jankowski

We also finalized the groups By-laws and membership requirements and application. Click on link at top of page to view.

Guest Speakers at START Meeting

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:29:36 +0000

Last night (3/31) we had two guests from Bliss, NY to talk to START about how their town dealt with the wind development. Mr. Kushner, town of Bliss supervisor, emphasized that his town has greatly benefited financially from the deal they negotiated and encouraged the towns of Machias & Yorkshire to work with the IDA to get as large a portion of the PILOT program as possible. He also discussed how there have been very few complaints about noise and TV disturbance. These items are being addressed as the wind farm site plan requires. He then addressed the issue of real estate values. He brought with him factual information from the tax roles that proved Bliss property values have increased since the development of the wind farm.

Tom Jacobs, land owner, has wind turbines on his property. He discussed the construction process and while he said it is construction and at times messy, the developer reclaimed and restored his property in the manner they promised.

Both wanted to stress that towns need to take all of the information available, weigh the pros and cons of the project and make a decision that is best for the town. They also made clear that there will always be vocal opponents and there isn’t much supporters can do to change their minds. They indicated that less than 1% of their town is against the project and yet these people tend to be the most vocal.

Finally, Mr. Kushner told the group that he felt that Horizon was a reputable wind company. He felt confident that if Machias and Yorkshire were to invite Horizon to construct in their town, they would be pleased with the way they do business. He said that Horizon would be foolish to conduct business in any other manner, as it would be the first project in Cattaraugus County, and other towns in the county would be looking to this project as a model. He went on to state that Horizon would not want to mess things up and get a bad name in the wind industry throughout Western New York.

One member of the audience complemented Mr. Kushner’s knowledge and approach in handling this project. The audience member asked if Mr. Kushner had talked to the Machias board. Mr. Kushner said he does not talk to other towns unless asked. He would be happy to address the town board’s questions and concerns. He encouraged the members of START to talk with the town board about this. Mr. Kushner accepts no compensation for his visits and does not represent anyone but himself and his town of Bliss.

Noise Facts

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:42:08 +0000

Typical baseline noise levels under moderately windy conditions (6 to 10 meters/second) are in the range of 32 and 38 dBA – that’s the typical background noise without any turbines present. So if you go out and stand in a field on an average day in Machias or Yorkshire, that’s about what you’re hearing. Anything below 35 dBA would be considered “silence” by most people.

During very calm and still times, the baseline noise levels may get into the 20s (dBA). These levels are occasionally recorded during studies to establish baseline noise levels in an area, and typically occur at night when things are completely calm. During these periods, there will be very little, if any wind blowing and therefore turbines would either be idle or spinning slowly enough that they would not contribute much in the way of added noise.

Noise is really a subjective matter. Those inclined to be unsupportive of a project will hear noise differently than those supporting it. There is certainly anecdotal evidence of people being bothered by the noise from wind farms but those complaints are usually noteworthy because they’re the exception, and not the general rule in projects.

Setback Facts

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:35:27 +0000

Setbacks are often hard to conceptualize. Rich Gerlach provided us with some interesting numbers that may help us all to understand the proposed setback distances.

Distance from the front of the Machias Fire Hall to Route 16: 350 feet

Distance from the fire truck hall to Route 16: 400 feet

The setback proposed from a residence to a turbine is almost 3 times (!!) the distance from the fire hall to Route 16. This may be an excellent point to make if you address setbacks at the public hearing.

Addressing Your Town Board

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:30:56 +0000

As we discussed at our meeting on Monday, we thought it would be a great idea to have an outline of what we were going to say to the board at the public hearing on Monday, March 9th. We think that is important to follow this guideline to show unified support from as many landowners as possible.

Outline

1) State your name

2) Where you own land

3) How you use your property, i.e. full time resident, vacation property, etc.

4) State that you are a supporter of wind development, large and small scale. You can mention that you are a member of START.

5) State other comments that are of specific concern to you.

Feel free to comment on this!

NYISO Marks Wind Power Milestone

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:54:29 +0000

Rensselaer, N.Y.

– The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) recently observed a milestone in the expansion of wind power generation in New York. At 6:00 pm on February 19, 2009, the combined total output of all wind plants in New York reached 1,000 megawatts (MW)….

Click here to continue reading.

Wind Opponents Blog

admin — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:05:36 +0000

I recently came across a blog regarding opposition to the wind project in Machias. It is interesting to see what the opposition thinks and how they portray their thoughts and concerns. To read these messages click on the link below.

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/yorkshire-ny/TVNM4KQU44G071UR4

Welcome to the “Machias Wind Farm” Blog

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:15:24 +0000

General Discussion regarding Machias Wind Farm. Click below on “comments” to add your message.

Next S.T.A.R.T Meeting

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:34:24 +0000

Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 7pm at the Machias Fire Hall.

Please bring a small snack to the next meeting to share. If you cannot, THAT’S OKAY!! Come anyway and enjoy!

If you know a supporter of renewable energy technologies you may bring them as a guest.