VILLAS — Lower Township Council passed an ordinance Monday to update and clarify repealed standards and procedures for constructing windmills as alternate energy systems.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Lare proposed amendments to the ordinance introduced earlier in the month, which did not have enough votes to pass Monday.
The amendments would have reduced required setback for a windmill from a property line from 15 feet to five feet plus the length of one rotor blade radius, waive application and permit fees for conforming, residential uses for wind and solar installations, and include a sunset provision that would require council to review the ordinance again by Dec. 31, 2010.
Councilman Wayne Mazurek, Tom Conrad and Glen Douglass voted “no” on the amendment while Lare and Mayor Michael Beck voted “yes,” sending it to a 3-2 defeat.
Before the vote, Lare said the 15-foot setback would prevent a number of homeowners from installing windmills.
Lower Township Taxpayers Association member Ed Butler asked council to delay passing the ordinance. He worried about the aesthetics of windmills and what affect it would have on his property value.
Beck said council had spent many hours on the ordinance and couldn’t be accused of rushing it through to passage.
Robert Olivio, of 300 Woodland Ave., has the township’s best-known windmill behind his home along the beach. He is also in the windmill business.
“You’re overlooking the fact that Lower Township had an ordinance in place for the last 27 years with a setback of five feet from the property line and it caused no problems,” said Olivio.
The final vote on the ordinance without the amendments was 3-2 with Conrad, Douglass and Beck voting in the positive and Mazurek and Lare casting negative votes.
In the W-1 Mainland and Island Medium Density Residential Overlay zone, a windmill of a maximum height of 100 feet and maximum output of 10 kilowatts (kW) would be permitted.
In the W-2 Low Density Residential Zone, maximum height of 150 feet with maximum output of 20 kW would be permitted while in the W-3 Industrial Zone, a maximum height of 150 feet with no limit of power output.
The W-3 Marine Development Zone allows maximum height of 300 feet with no limit of power output while the W-5 Conservation District Wind Farm zone allows a 450-foot maximum height with no limit on power output.
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