His department
has fielded questions about locating windmills in town, said Burns Harbor
building commissioner Bill Arney, and under the new zoning ordinance it’s
not clear how much the town can regulate them.
After a brief
discussion Monday night the Burns Harbor Advisory Plan Commission decided to
let the Board of Zoning Appeals deal with it for now rather than writing
specific standards for windmills.
Commission
attorney Chuck Parkinson said the ordinance does permit in a particular
district “small” wind equipment as defined by kilowatt generation; if not
meeting that criteria, the BZA would have to grant a use variance that could
have conditions tied to the approval.
Hesham Khalil of
town engineer Global Engineering and Surveying said today’s windmills are
typically monopoles that usually follow cellular-tower standards. Different
areas require different heights to catch the wind, he said.
Arney said the
requests he’s received are from property owners near U.S. 12 and U.S. 20.
Other
considerations discussed were noise, safety, aesthetics and return on
investment for the property owner. Commission president Jeff Freeze
cautioned against having multiple windmills in a subdivision; Khalil and
member Jan Hines said it can take years to recoup the cost of residential
windmill construction through electric savings.
If it appears
windmills do become more common, the commission agreed, specific standards
can be adopted through an amendment to the zoning ordinance.
Commission
member Toni Biancardi said a recommendation on facade standards for
buildings in the future downtown district is on hold until the town’s
Redevelopment Commission considers hiring a grant writer at the RDC’s
rescheduled June 15 meeting.
Biancardi said a
facade-standards grant could be available but a certified grant writer is
needed to administer it.
Commission
member Terry Swanson inquired about the scheduled closing of Indiana 149 at
the U.S. 20 intersection, which is being rebuilt by a contractor for the
Indiana Department of Transportation.
Arney said he
was told the closure is slated to begin in late June and now could last up
to two months. As town fire chief, Arney said local officials advised INDOT
that’s not acceptable so a compacted gravel emergency lane suitable for
police/fire vehicles will be installed over the Conrail tracks south of Old
Porter Road.
Arney also said
INDOT has been told to cut down the cattails in a roadside ditch at the west
entrance to the Luke convenience store at the 149/20 intersection; the
vegetation obscures the view of oncoming northbound Indiana 149 traffic for
exiting Luke customers.
The commission
rescheduled next month’s meeting to July 12 due to the July 5 legal holiday.
