A proposed amendment to Concord Township’s code, if passed,
would accommodate on-site wind and solar energy facilities in all zoning
districts, residential and commercial. The measure is for energy production for
the property only, not for commercial energy production.
Supervisors opened a hearing on Feb. 1. After a brief review
and several comments, they continued the hearing to March 1.
One resident, Kevin McKinney, expressed concerns about sound
coming from wind turbines, both large and small turbines.
He said the low resonance frequency comes from wind farms
where there are large wind turbines where the blades are more than 100 feet in
length.
“They create a low resonance by displacement of air,” he
said. “You have a sense of something, a sense of sound as far away as 10 to 15 miles.
My experience on the smaller version, as something you might see around here at
homes…They run at a high rpm. That sound is audible…The smaller wind turbines
are putting out a different type of noise. That one you can hear. Imagine
walking past a fan, a large fan that’s running 24/7 and it’s right next to your
window.”
Township engineer Nate Cline, and supervisors, said they
would look into that matter and adjust the wording as necessary.
Another wording change suggested by solicitor Hugh Donaghue would
be to allow for solar arrays to be placed in the front yards of homes if that’s
where a property received the most sunlight. The current wording prevents such
placement.
According to a draft of the ordinance, a solar energy
facility would be permitted as an accessory structure in all zoning districts
when the array is less than or equal to 1,000 square feet. Special exception
would be needed if the proposed array is larger than 1,000 square feet.
Ground installed arrays must be no higher than the peak of
the roofline. If installed on a roof, the array may cover no more than 50
percent of the roof area. No solar energy facility may cover more than 30
percent of the tract area.
Solar facilities may not be located on a building in the
historic area.
Special exception is needed for all wind energy facilities.
All facilities must meet setback requirements.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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