Turbine owner given reprieve

CAPE VINCENT — Roger D. Alexander can keep his 92-foot wind turbine, for now.

Alan N. Wood, the town's zoning enforcement officer, said Mr. Alexander will be given another chance to appeal his case to the town's Zoning Board of Appeals.

Mr. Wood said that he notified Mr. Alexander of his violation by mail last month and that a written response from Mr. Alexander's attorney, David B. Guertsen, arrived last week.

"I think he wants to talk to the ZBA. He had no chance to respond," Mr. Wood said.

Mr. Alexander, owner of the Lazy Acres Mobile Home Park, spent $80,000 to erect a personal wind turbine next to his residence to reduce his utility bill, according to Mr. Guertsen.

The ZBA at a regular board meeting last month decided the wind turbine is illegal after Mr. Alexander's neighbor, Mary C. Grogan filed a complaint.

At that meeting, ZBA Chairman Edward P. Bender said the Town Council must uphold the ZBA's decision before Mr. Wood can notify Mr. Alexander of his violation by mail, giving him 14 days to tear down the turbine.

However, the zoning officer does not need the council's approval to send out a letter of violation and Mr. Alexander had 14 days to respond to the notification, rather than 14 days to take down his turbine, Mr. Wood said.

Town Supervisor Thomas K. Rienbeck said the issue had nothing to do with the council.

"That was their decision to make," he said.

Mr. Rienbeck said both he and Mr. Wood consulted the town's attorney, Mark G. Gebo, before mailing the notification to Mr. Alexander.

The ZBA voted unanimously, both at its August and September meetings, to treat residential wind turbines as an accessory structure and decided that Mr. Wood "improperly issued" permits for Mr. Alexander's turbine. Section 585 of the zoning law, which deals with such structures on individual lots, limits their height to 35 feet.

Mr. Wood said he issued permits for the turbine because he was told, by both the zoning and planning boards, there were no setback and height rules for residential wind turbines in the town's zoning ordinance.

"I've issued 620 permits over the past seven years and this is the first permit that was contested," he said.

The permit for Mr. Alexander's turbine was issued in May and renewed in July.

The next ZBA meeting will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at the town office on Route 12E.