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.”