Municipal council votes to take a breather on turbine bylaw

It could be said that nothing is certain in Digby these days except turbines and taxes. The Monday June 29 meeting of Municipality of Digby Council touched on both.

But discussion of a proposed land-use bylaw pertaining to wind turbines dominated the evening as council accepted public comments then voted to postpone a final decision indefinitely.

Eleven speakers took the floor to express opinions both for and against the document. Written submissions were received in advance of the meeting.

If passed, the bylaw would have set clear guidelines for small turbines producing less than 100 kilowatts for use onsite. Permits for such installations would be granted if noise levels do not exceed 45 decibels at the property line. For comparison, regular conversation is typically rated at 60 decibels; a mosquito's buzz is rated around 40 decibels.

Projects to build utility-scale turbines that feed energy into the grid would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Any project would require its own Development Agreement arrived at through detailed submissions and public consultation, not unlike the process the SkyPower-Scotian Windfields project has followed over the past year.

Some—including representatives from SkyPower Corp. and Scotian Windfields—have raised concerns that the bylaw lacks clarity.

Opponents argue that a bylaw without standards or guidelines asks wind investors to shell out big bucks without any indication if or when their project has a chance of receiving approval, and this unpredictability will negatively affect the region’s ability to attract wind energy development. “After considering the information that has been circulating for the last several months, I think council was not comfortable making a final decision at that time,” says Thurber. “The proposed bylaw makes it very challenging for potential developers to know what rules they’ll have to follow.” “We have an excellent wind resource in this area and we need to take advantage of it,” says warden Jim Thurber. “We’re trying to strike a balance between keeping the quality of life for surrounding residents, the need for green, renewable energy, the need for development and jobs in the municipality, and the financial benefits of industry and development in the area.” “We want to end up with something that allows development to happen, yet allows it to happen with as few effects on surrounding residents as possible, and as much benefit to the surrounding municipality as possible,” Thurber adds.

CAO Linda Fraser says that if council decides not to make big changes to the draft bylaw, it could go directly to final reading at a future council meeting. If council does make significant changes, new public consultations will be required.

Fraser adds that a year of hard work has brought the bylaw to this point, and council would like to get back to the issue soon. Citizens engaged in this debate should therefore watch for word of a special meeting, perhaps during the summer months.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAX DROPS FIVE PER CENT

After deciding to delay the turbine bylaw decision, municipal council ventured into less contentious territory when it voted to lower residential property taxes from $1.35 per $100 to $1.30 per $100 of assessed value for the coming year. “We realize that the economy is a bit difficult right now, and that assessments this year are based on property values back in January 2007 when they were fairly high,” says Thurber. “Hopefully, this five cent decrease will be noticeable and beneficial to people who are finding it a little difficult to make ends meet just now.”

CAO Linda Fraser says commercial tax rates will remain unchanged next year, even as the phase-out of business occupancy tax continues. “It’s good in this economy to hold tax rates the way they are, even better when you get the opportunity to drop them,” says Thurber. “Our plan is to do this without causing any problems for the services we currently provide, and hopeful that if we have an opportunity to offer further services in the future, we won’t be curtailed because of allowing this decrease to happen.”