VILLAS — Lower Township Council introduced an ordinance Monday to update and clarify repealed standards and procedures for constructing windmills as alternate energy systems.
Main points of the ordinance:
• W-1 Mainland and Island Medium Density Residential Overlay zone permits maximum height of 100 feet and maximum output of 10 kilowatts (kW). Minimum distance between the ground and any protruding blades shall be 15 feet as measured when the tip of the blade reaches its lowest elevation.
• W-2 Low Density Residential Zone, maximum height of 150 feet with maximum output of 20 kW.
•W-3 Industrial Zone, maximum height of 150 feet with no limit of power output.
• W-3 Marine Development Zone, maximum height of 300 feet with no limit of power output.
• W-5 Conservation District Wind Farm: 450-foot maximum height, no limit on power output.
• Setbacks: May be built not less than one rotor radius plus 15 feet from a property line, right away or electric lines.
• Non-residential uses shall be required to provide a minimum buffer area of 200-feet in width along any common property line within a residential district or residential use in addition to the required setback.
• Residential windmills shall not require a site plan or planning or zoning board approval.
• Non residential windmills will require a major site plan.
Applications for residential windmills shall include a land survey, one set of detailed plans, certification at the applicant’s expense from a professional engineer that the plans comply with the township’s code including structural integrity, rated capacity and setback requirements.
Non-residential uses require all of the above plus a certification from the windmill manufacturer as to the structural integrity of the equipment and an engineer’s certification of all components including the tower’s foundation.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Lare suggested council pass a resolution at its next meeting to suspend permit fees for windmills and solar panels that conformed to township regulations if council approves the windmill ordinance at its next meeting.
“I think that it’s a statement council can make that we support the renewable energy trend…” he said. “I think it’s a small token for us to consider waiving those permit fees.”
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held August 17 at 7 p.m. in Township Hall.
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