A Monkton family is free to build the area?s first backyard windmill, Baltimore County?s zoning commissioner has ruled in a precedent-setting opinion he said he hopes will “forge new ground” in alternative, renewable energy.
The ruling released Friday grants the Antonelli family approval to build a 120-foot windmill in its yard, a special exception to a county law that caps poles on residential property at 15 feet. In his opinion, Deputy Zoning Commissioner Tom Bostwick said the windmill will keep seven tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year and provide a “working example of utilizing alternative energy sources.”
“On paper, the Antonellis? request is simply a request for variance, but the implications of the family?s actions may well reflect a change in American attitudes regarding oil and alternative energy uses,” Bostwick wrote.
Earlier this month, the Baltimore County Council passed a resolution directing the county planning board to re-examine zoning law equating windmills to sheds with height limits at 15 feet. At that height, experts said, significant wind generation is impossible.
In May, Carroll County became the first and, so far, only Maryland jurisdiction to allow backyard windmills, passing legislation allowing them up to 150 feet tall. Anne Arundel County caps accessory structures at 25 feet, and Howard County imposes strict distance requirements from roads.
Homeowner Barry Antonelli said the windmill ? which could cost between $14,000 and $120,000, according to his electrician ? could shave up to 25 percent off his monthly electric bills.
“There?s a payback,” he said in a previous interview.
But not everyone is happy about the windmill. Several of Antonelli?s neighbors said they worry the turbine could be a noisy eyesore and plan to file an appeal Monday.
“We were surprised he approved it without any independent study on how it?s going to impact the surrounding community,” said Lisa Viscuso. “We?re disappointed.”
