On the JLL blog R. Wiley wrote a post recently about protecting our local St. Lawrence River viewshed from industrial wind development. This is something I have also been saying we should do since 2006 when this wind controversy started, and do it using our zoning and comprehensive plan as the basis for that viewshed protection. I also believe the only rational approach that actually gives the maximum protection is to prohibit industrial wind turbines altogether. This is the only way to address a land use so visually invasive and dominating that traditional zoning setbacks fail. Wiley is quoted below.
“I have been doing exactly that by staying in constant contact with the progress of both the comp plan committee and the zoning ordinance committee. I also have been staying in contract with other individuals who have been doing the same. If at any point I thought those committees were not preparing town plans that were not protecting what we have here on the St. Lawrence and in the very best way you would certainly hear about it from me.”
Well good for you Mr. Wiley I am glad you seem to know exactly what the collective community aesthetic taste is and will let us know if it is violated!! Of course that depends on two things and seems just a bit arrogant to me. First, what would Wiley’s and his friend’s standards be for protecting the viewshed? Would they be different from yours and mine? I guess he makes the assumption he knows the answer to that question and we should just trust him. Of course then again there is another approach. If he has the close inside track on the committees, and the people surrounding the committees, how about he present us with some concrete details of what the committees are actually doing in the area of viewshed protection and let us make up our own minds as to whether they are actually taking steps to protect the St. Lawrence viewshed.
Now gee there is a concept!!
Not sure the zoning committee talking about a wind overlay district right out of the box falls under my definition of “ viewshed protection.” And where are those protections going to be…along the waterfront and around the village where Wiley lives? Keep in mind that 4 of our town councilmen who will take the final vote on our new land use documents live either on the CV shore or in the village. What about the CV interior? Maybe that is why an industrial zone is proposed for the
St. Lawrence Rd.
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In my next post we will examine this question of beauty as it relates to industrial wind turbines in our area. Are turbines actually beautiful as some claim? Where is the evidence?
Attempting to quantify what beautiful viewshed is nearly impossible, Art. Perhaps if you surveyed a huge number of people, you could define what beauty is. I guess that's why there is that old adage, "Beuaty is in the eyes of the beholder." I personally know people that think the turbines on Wolfe Island look great. I don't but they do...
ReplyDeleteStay tuned for my upcoming post. We will address this very issue. It's not as impossible as you might think.
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