A little more than a year since North Strabane first received a request from a resident to install a wind turbine on his property, a draft of a zoning ordinance amendment regarding small non-commercial wind energy conversion systems soon may be voted on by the board of supervisors.

Frank Weber, of Grandview Drive, attended the public hearing last night regarding the ordinance amendment. The proposed amendment would allow wind energy conversion systems, but set certain limitations. A wind turbine would not be permitted to exceed 100 feet in height and setbacks from all property lines, utility lines and structures must be 1.5 times the total height of the turbine.

The total height includes the tower or pole plus the rotor radius. The lowest part of the rotor blade must be at least 30 feet higher than surrounding structures.

The ordinance amendment originally was scheduled for a vote during next Tuesday's legislative meeting. The board may or may not choose to vote since issues discussed during the hearing could result in changes to the draft ordinance amendment.

Supervisor Robert Balogh questioned why the amendment had so many specific rules that went beyond safety regulations. For example, the draft states only one turbine will be allowed on a lot or parcel with a primary structure and isn't allowed to generate more than 50 kilowatts of power.

"I'm of the mind that people's property is people's property," he said.

Assistant Manager Paulette Moyar said trying to regulate these systems is all "brand new." The 50-kilowatt restriction is the amount of energy needed to power a residence and anything more may result in commercial use and the selling of electricity to utility companies.

She also said the board could change how many turbines are allowed on someone's property.

First Published: August 19, 2009, 10:00 a.m.