By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

Cape Elizabeth residents who spoke at a planning board public hearing
on Tuesday night were largely in favor of permitting residential wind
turbines in town, but there are some who continue to express concerns
about the structures effects on the visual landscape.

Planning Board Chairman Barbara Schenkel still has aesthetic concerns
and abstained from the vote to send the zoning amendments to the town
council while the other five members present at the meeting were in
favor of moving forward. The town council will consider the amendments
and host another public hearing.

Schenkel said she was taking “the chicken’s way out” of the vote, but
was not in favor of allowing 100-foot towers in town, which is the
maximum height allowed under the proposed amendments.

Residents expressed differing opinions through email with some writing
they continue to be concerned about visual appearance, noise, property
values and lot size. Others said they favored allowing wind turbines on
smaller lots and said abutting neighbors should be allowed to share a
turbine.

As amended during Tuesday’s meeting, the zoning amendments would allow
residents to obtain a building permit from the code enforcement officer
to install one wind turbine on their property. The turbines would be
constricted to a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet and the
property would need to meet a minimum setback of 50 percent of the
distance from the ground to the center of the turbine. A professional
engineer must approve the structure if residents are not able to meet
the minimum setback.

The turbine’s rated capacity would be restricted to no more than 20
kilowatts, in excess of the household’s electricity consumption,
allowing consumers to use their energy generation to offset their
consumption and even allowing their energy meters to “run backward”
when they generate excess electricity.

Wind turbines would be required to have a monopole design without guy
wires support structures and would be restricted to a maximum height of
100 feet to the center of the turbine. The system must also be in a
neutral color and made of a non-reflective surface. Turbines would also
be subject to noise standards.

“It’s the right thing to do and we must start to do the right thing if
the human race is going to get better,” said resident Warren Roos,
addressing the board.

Roos said he wants to install a Skystream 3.7 model turbine like the
one found at the Bush family compound, Walker’s Point, and the Saco
wastewater treatment plant. He said he expects the model to cut his
electric bill, which is more than $200 a month, by two-thirds.

He said there is no evidence to suggest wind turbines have an adverse
effect on property values, but he said surveys have shown homeowners
are willing to pay more for homes with wind or solar structures.

Priscilla Armstrong said she didn’t have any plans to install a wind
turbine at her home, but said the technology might win her over
someday. As a former school board member who has seen how expensive oil
can be for the school department, Armstrong said she was in favor of
installing a turbine near the schools or the transfer station.

Eastman Road condominiums

Eastman Meadows condominium developer Joel Fitzpatrick of Wyley
Enterprises, revealed a new set of plans to the planning board during a
special workshop on Tuesday.

Fitzpatrick is proposing construction of 46 single-story, two-bedroom
condominiums on a 40-acre parcel, flanked by wetlands and abutting
existing open space and trail networks off Eastman Road. The units will
be marketed to retired empty nesters, Fitzpatrick has said.

Owens McCullough, a project manager with Sebago Technics employed by
Fitzpatrick, said following the public’s concerns and comments during a
public hearing in October, Fitzpatrick hired another consulting firm to
walk the site and verify wetland mapping. With further review,

a strip of land with mature trees and peat like soil, located westerly
of an existing farm, was determined to be a critical wetland. Because
town ordinances require a 250-foot setback from critical wetlands, the
development’s layout had to be adjusted, McCullough said. As a result,
the amount of open space on the property could increase, he said.

Fitzpatrick is also proposing to landscape or forest an area that once
was an old agricultural field and now meets wetland criteria.
McCullough said the intent is to have the area function as a drainage
and filtration mechanism.

Currently, the allowable density is 46 units, however, Fitzpatrick is
proposing 48, which includes an existing farmhouse. The development
will also have an additional moderate-income unit, increasing the total
number to six.

McCullough said they plan to submit their density calculations for a peer review.

Fitzpatrick reiterated there is no reason to restrict the units to
people 55 and older. He said when he receives calls from young families
they are not interested in the Eastman Meadows project.

Town Planner Maureen O’Meara provided the board with a list of the
condominiums currently located in Cape Elizabeth, some 296 units, none
of which are age restricted. Running the addresses through the school
department turned up 11 children currently living in the units, some of
which have three bedrooms and two stories.

The unit design has largely not changed from the original proposal, but
Fitzpatrick said the buildings will have decorative columns, window
trim and decorative garage doors.

“With this type of building it’s really hard to get too fancy,” he said.

Initially, the development was going to include a public road, but now
Fitzpatrick is proposing it be  a private drive, McCullough said.
In order to limit disturbance to an abutter, McCullough said they were
calling for one primary access and one gated emergency access to the
development.

The board and town planner Maureen O’Meara however, advised against an emergency gate.

“Emergency access gates are by their nature less accessible,” O’Meara said.

McCullough said as an alternative, they could push the road over in the easterly direction, which will likely impact wetlands.

To lessen the concerns of neighbors, the board also suggested
Fitzpatrick consider shoulder work and more signage on Eastman Road for
pedestrian safety and traffic calming.

McCullough said he and Fitzpatrick will continue to work on the design
through January. They expect to be back before the planning board in
February.