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Mistake leads to cancellation of public hearing over proposed wind law in Hopkinton

Posted 3/13/18

By MATT LINDSEY HOPKINTON — A mistake caused a public hearing on a propose wind law for the North Ridge Wind Farm to be cancelled just two days before the meeting. “Land use public hearings …

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Mistake leads to cancellation of public hearing over proposed wind law in Hopkinton

Posted

By MATT LINDSEY

HOPKINTON — A mistake caused a public hearing on a propose wind law for the North Ridge Wind Farm to be cancelled just two days before the meeting.

“Land use public hearings require a 10 day notice, as well as having to notify bordering townships,” Hopkinton Town Supervisor Susan Wood said. “Attorney Linden notified me of this on Monday morning, March 12, even after being notified of the public hearing on February 28.”

The town however, failed to meet those requirements when issuing notice of the meeting.

Avangrid Renewables plans to build 27 turbines on land in Hopkinton. They previously had plans to build in nearby Parishville, but have since pulled out.

Wood said this error was not the town clerk's fault.

Rumors had been circulating that this may have been an error by Vicki French, the town clerk.

“We went by the guidelines for a regular public hearing," Wood said of the mistake.

The meeting, originally planned for March 14 at 6:30 p.m., has not been rescheduled yet.

On Feb. 27 the town board verbally agreed to not extend the wind overlay zone south of SH 72. The decision came at a work session where no public comment was allowed.

The board also agreed on a sound decibel limit of 40 dBA and setbacks of 2,500 feet (or five times the height of tip of the blade) from a property line.

For more, see story.