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Ice rink is on track to erect wind turbine
(by Joan Demirjian - March 16, 2011)
Ice rink is on track to erect wind turbine
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
After a review of a conditional-use permit for the Pond ice-skating rink's plans to install wind turbines, the Auburn Township board of zoning appeals last week approved the conditions.
When originally approved in January 2010, the permit had a stipulation that the Pond would return to the board of zoning appeals if the turbines had not been installed within a year, according to Lewis Tomsic, chairman of the board. That was the purpose of the March 8 hearing on the conditional-use permit.
Naromiocki Properties owns the ice rink at 9999 E. Washington St. and wants to put in two turbines, Mr. Tomsic said.
Owners Kevin Shaw and Scot Loury have said the turbines would provide sustainable energy for the facility and a third of the electric used by the rink.
"There are plans for two wind turbines," Mr. Tomsic said, and groundbreaking is expected this spring.
Conditions have been set related to safety aspects and maintenance. As required by the permit, the information is to be provided to the township with reports submitted to township Zoning Inspector Frank Kitko. The Auburn Fire Department also is to be kept on notice regarding aspects of the towers.
All the conditions are the same as when they were set last year, Mr. Tomsic said.
The Pond is in a district zoned for general business.
Representatives of the business had to show that the distance to structures surrounding the ice rink is at least the length of the towers, but they are planned relatively close to the Pond building itself, Mr. Tomsic said. The owners said the towers are made to withstand winds of 80 mph to 90 mph. The towers will be 121 feet high, and the top of the wind blades will be 155 feet above the ground.
They will be 173 feet from the Pond's back property line. However, one tower is to be just 50 feet away from the west side of the ice-rink building, while the one on east side will be 210 feet away. The owners said the towers are made to withstand winds of 80 mph to 90 mph.
If a tower falls, it must be restricted to the Pond property, Mr. Kitko said. It is the Pond's issue if it falls on its building, he said.
The board of zoning appeals included an additional requirement that the towers must be clear of the Geauga County Sheriff's Department telecommunications' path. "We wanted to show and have documentation from the sheriff that the towers do not interfere with the sheriff's department radio system," Mr. Tomsic said. Maps submitted show that the towers will be out of the bounds of county communications, he said.
When installed, the towers will be the only wind turbines currently in the township. "These would be the only ones producing electricity," Mr. Tomsic said.
The Geauga County planning commission has written some model zoning for townships in the county to use should they wish to adopt the regulations, according to Geauga County Planning Director David Dietrich.
The towers are considered structures and can be regulated through zoning, Mr. Dietrich said.
The Auburn zoning commission is in the process of writing zoning regulations for the wind turbines.
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