The Newcastle Planning Board has submitted a draft ordinance that will govern possible home wind power units.
The draft ordinance was presented to the town selectmen Monday.
In order to be adopted, the proposed wind power ordinance must be approved by the voters at the June 14 town meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Academy gym.
The planning board also adopted rules that require a developer to notify neighbors at the earliest stages of a project.
Planning board chairman Richard Burt said the thought behind the requirement was to inform neighbors before a project got too far down the road to change.
“We want to bring the neighbors in at the start. Our hope is by bringing them in at the beginning of a project, they will be able to have some input,” he said.
Ron Grenier, the town administrator, said several residents have approached the town asking about regulations governing wind power units.
Burt said the board has worked for much of the year with town attorney Peter Drum to draft some rules to permit the units to be constructed on private property.
No public hearings were held on the wind ordinance, but he said he wanted to hear from residents who had ideas about what should be included.
“We are open to suggestions. We are learning about this like everybody else,” Burt said.
One suggestion was to require units to control possible noise, he said.
“Even on North Haven Island, where there are three giant turbines, the strong [wind power] supporters say there is a problem with noise. We are trying to limit the noise,” he said.
Selectman Pat Hudson said the proposed ordinance should take safety into consideration. She suggested there should be a requirement in the ordinance to make sure there is room between homes should a tower fall.
