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KINGSTON WIND TURBINE/SHADOW FLICKER UPDATE

On Behalf of | Jun 16, 2014 | Land Use And Zoning |

A few weeks ago, we blogged about some of the wind turbine zoning regulations–as they pertain to shadow flicker in particular-spinning about within Massachusetts.

As you might recall from that post, Kingston had recently put a two-year moratorium in place (through April 15, 2016) for new wind turbines. In addition, the town had proposed adding zero shadow flicker rule once turbines could be built again in 2016.

We wanted to provide a brief update about the recent vote taken at the Kingston Town Meeting with regards to the issue of shadow flicker. Up for vote was whether to keep in place the essentially zero tolerance ban on shadow flicker–that is, it was proposed that no new wind turbines could cause any shadow flicker on neighboring property or adjacent uses.

Although a slight majority of residents (76-72) voted to keep the zero flicker ban in place, it fell short of the two-thirds majority that was required. It is unclear whether the existing flicker standards will remain in place, or if some other proposal will be advance. However, the new wind turbine moratorium remains in place. You can read more about the vote and some related commentary here.

Considering the strong opinions on both sides of the shadow flicker issue, we imagine that this will not be the last we hear of it. We are curious: have wind turbines and/or shadow flicker caused any issues in your community? Leave a comment if they have.

Written by Kristen M. Ploetz, Esq., of Green Lodestar Communications & Consulting, LLC, on behalf of Jeffrey T. Angley, P.C. Edited by Jeffrey T. Angley, Esq.

 

Copyright (c) 2011-2014 by Jeffrey T. Angley, P.C. All rights reserved.

 

Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is general in nature and for educational purposes only. No personal legal advice is being provided. If you have an actual legal issue that needs to be addressed, you should seek the advice of competent legal counsel. This post does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Jeffrey T. Angley, P.C., Phillips & Angley or their attorneys.

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