News from The Sparks-Glencoe
Community Planning Council
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MD AG Gansler Visits
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Attorney General Gansler to
Visit the Gunpowder River
 |
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler will
visit the Gunpowder River on Wednesday, October
27, 2010, the third stop of his 2010 audit of
the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
As part of the Audit, Attorney General Gansler
will visit several sites along the Gunpowder
River and its tributaries including a visit
to Loch Raven Reservoir and will receive briefings
on the rich history, progress and current challenges
facing the river. The Gunpowder River Audit
visit will conclude with a Town Hall Meeting
at Goucher College at 4:30 p.m. in the Batza
Room on the 4th floor of the Athenaeum, 1021
Dulaney Valley Road in Towson. The Town Hall
meeting is an opportunity for citizens to share
their concerns about the health of the Gunpowder
River and any other environmental issues in
the community.
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Important Hearing and Meeting
Dates
Wind tower hearings are open to the public, and will
be held at the Jefferson Building, 105 W. Chesapeake
Ave in Towson. Letters can also be emailed to
the Planning Board at
bweaver@baltimorecountymd.gov
or mailed to Baltimore County Office of Planning, 105
W. Chesapeake Ave, Towson, MD 21204. Current regulations
proposed by the County would allow a 150 foot tall wind
turbine as of right, meaning that no hearing would be
held. Since these towers would be as tall or taller
than cell phone towers, it would be appropriate to regulate
them in a somewhat similar manner. Cell towers
must go through several rounds of hearings. We
think one hearing should be held prior to erection of
a wind turbine to allow neighbors and surrounding community
members to express any concerns about the location of
a turbine near them.
The public hearing for proposed cell towers on Belfast
Road will be continued at 9 am on October 14th, also
at 105 W. Chesapeake. Letters can be mailed to
Mr. William Wiseman, Baltimore County Zoning Commissioner,
Jefferson Building, 105 W. Chesapeake Ave, Room 104,
Towson, MD 21204.
The Board of Appeals hearing on the CZMP rezoning
request was held on Sept. 15, 9 am. This is a request
to upzone a parcel included in Sparks-Glencoe's successful
petition to downzone property in the 2008 CZMP cycle.
SGCPC raised concerns that the property is part of an
area appropriate for Resource Preservation zoning, because
of its proximity to Prettyboy Reservoir, the Gunpowder
Falls, and Gunpowder Falls State Park. Current
zoning upholds the County's Master Plan goals of protecting
environmental resources and restricting development
in watershed areas. The request would undermine
the integrity of the comprehensive zoning process.
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Wind Turbine Comments
Comments on Amendments to the Baltimore
County Zoning Regulations Regarding Wind Turbines
The Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council is
dedicated to preserving the natural resources and rural
character of northern Baltimore County. Obtaining
electricity through wind power has both benefits and
disadvantages. Environmentally, wind turbines
help by supplying “clean” energy, but they are harmful
to birds and bats. Financially, turbines may help
the owner by lowering his energy expense, but they may
hurt his neighbors by detracting from the value of their
property. Other negative effects of turbines,
including aesthetics, shadowing, noise, and safety concerns,
can lessen the neighbors’ enjoyment of their property.
The rural character of our area would be marred by a
proliferation of these industrial-looking towers.
The proposed amendments to the County zoning regulations
do not adequately protect the community from the negative
consequences of wind turbines.
Most importantly, wind turbines should not be permitted
as of right in a rural conservation zone. A special
exception hearing should be held to provide community
members with the opportunity to express their concerns
about a project, and to determine whether the turbine
could be built in a way that would minimize the harmful
impact on the surrounding community. The County’s
Department of Environmental Protection and Resource
Management should also certify, as part of the hearing
process, that the location of a proposed turbine would
not endanger wildlife, or otherwise harm the environment.
A special exception hearing would allow concerns
such as noise, shadowing, and potential safety hazards,
to be addressed. Rather than specifying a minimum
lot size which guarantees a right to build a turbine,
a special exception hearing could ascertain the proximity
of neighbors to the proposed site, and it could be determined
whether and where a turbine could be built that would
not adversely affect the neighbors. It is conceivable
that someone who owns one acre in a remote location
would not disturb any neighbors by erecting a wind turbine
on his property, but someone with 25 acres who wants
to put a turbine near his property’s edge would disturb
a neighbor next door. It would be better to take
such considerations into account during a hearing process
than to attempt to set one standard for all situations.
During the hearing, the turbine manufacturer’s recommendations
for safety issues and other operating information should
be produced by the property owner to ensure that minimum
setbacks and other standards are followed. Safety considerations
and noise levels will vary with turbine models; rather
than specifying one setback for all cases, the requirements
of the various models can be taken into account during
the hearing.
The same level of scrutiny should be applied to wind
turbine proposals as is applied to proposals to build
cell towers. Both wind turbines and cell towers
have an industrial appearance that does not blend in
with the rural landscape. While cell towers may
directly benefit the surrounding community, individually
owned wind turbines would provide electric power only
to the owner. Cell towers are required to go through
several hearings prior to approval. It would be
inconsistent and inappropriate to allow wind turbines
to be erected with no hearing process whatsoever.
A 150-foot tower would alter the character of a rural
area; it would loom over neighboring properties and
create an eyesore. Members of our community have gone
to great lengths to protect the natural beauty of the
area. Some have participated in programs funded
by the government to preserve their property in its
natural condition. It would be inconsistent to allow
such an industrial type of intrusion into an area that
was deemed worthy of publicly funded protection.
In sum, wind turbines may be a helpful alternative
energy source. However, one person’s right to
pursue such options should not detract from his neighbor’s
enjoyment of his property. Stricter control is
needed to protect the rural character of northern Baltimore
County and the interests of the surrounding community.
Respectfully submitted,
The Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council
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