With the federal government dragging its feet on energy policy, it?s up to the states and counties to lead the way in weaning us from our finite supply of fossil fuels.
Baltimore County last week proved itself open and ready for that responsibility. Deputy Zoning Commissioner Thomas Bostwick ruled that a Monkton family could build a 120-foot wind turbine on its 50-plus acres despite the spurious arguments of some neighbors that it would lower property values in the surrounding area, hurt wildlife and be too noisy.
The approval meant granting an exception to a rule that caps poles on residential property at 15 feet. Given the cost of building the turbine, which could reach $120,000, we doubt this will start a stampede to the zoning commissioner?s door for more exemptions.
But it showed the county is ready to revisit outdated rules to adapt to a changing economic climate. To prevent more zoning debates, County Council members should address the issue and pass legislation explicitly allowing turbines. Carroll County in May passed the state?s first law allowing turbines up to 150 feet in backyards.
Aesthetics must not stop worthy alternative energy projects. No study that we can find shows wind turbines hurt property values, and accusations they will be too noisy are false. The one planned for the Antonelli family in Monkton will be as loud as a window unit air conditioner, according to the electrician for the project.
And at what price wildlife? Environmentalists say we must not drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because birds and wildlife could potentially be hurt. Must we also deny people the right to develop viable renewable energy sources because a few members of a certain species might be hurt? We need to get energy from somewhere.
Individual windmills are no solution to the state or the country?s energy problem. As Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-6, has pointed out in these pages, we need the equivalent of a federally funded Manhattan Project to accomplish that goal.
But in the interim, encouraging people to become energy self-sufficient by giving them the legal tools to do so only makes sense.
