01-05-11-PC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Orono resident Jay Nygard believes installing a small wind turbine inhIsyardwouldbe an energy saver, but he has run into opposition from the dty. WHISTLEBL©WER JAMES ELI SNIFFER On the shore of Lake Minnetonka, Jay Nygard wants to harness the wind to power his hot tub an d crank up his alternative energy business. Yet Nygard's plan to put a small wind turbine in his back yard ran into trouble before the blades began to spun. The city of Orono has ordered Nygard to stop work on his wind turbine, saying the city's zoning doesn't allow wind generators, and threatened him with criminal prosecution if he ignores the order. Nygard admits he poured a concrete pad for the turbine after the city rejected his applica tion fora building permit. But he and his attor- ney claim the city is overstepping its authority and discouraging a homeowner and entrepre- neur from helping the environment. "Here I'm trying to go green and they're try- ing to throw me in jail," Nygard. said. Nygard's clash with Orono is the latest ex- ample of wind energy entrepreneurs "per ding local governments to decide what place, if any, wind turbines have within their borders. Cities and towns typically don't confront the question until something like this happens, said Brian Ross of CR Planning, a consultant who helps local governments write wind ener- gy ordinances. Orono Mayor James White said Nygard should put his energy into petitioning the city for a wind energy policy, not getting into a standoff with inspectors. White said that even though Orono doesn't explicitly ban wind gen- erators in Nygard's neighborhood, the city has broad authority to limit what people build on their property "We're not going to discourage people from doing green cgs," White said. "It's just when and where, ttubines N ygard, 45, is a stay -at -home dad who's try- to start a business selling home wind tur- s 'eTaiwanese -made "vertical axis" tur- es look more like upside -down egg-beaters e classic pinwheel- shaped generators. units stand about 22 feet tall, the blades are 9 feet in diameter and they generate about watts. By contrast, the commercial tur- per b pies s in southwestern Minnesota can rise 400 feet, counting the pole and the blades, E generate a thousand times more pow- t Nygard's home generator. N ygard estimates the turbine will provide about half his home's electricity. But his main purpose is to set up a working model to entice customers to fork over $5,000 for Nygard to in- eir very own turbine. gard's home is on Rest Point, which juts in o Lake Minnetonka and catches the lake breez ickeda.s spot and between the t in his back p yard and a shed that he thinks would be mostly shielded from hi next-door neighbor by a hedge. The blue-and-silver blades would spin just be- rooftop, he said. "I'm not to bring a piece of junk to the he said. gard said he tried to work with the city t viting an inspector to view a small- scale et at his home. But city officials told i' just �`F for a`i building Y�'.'� IS S.'�. _'J just apply f of l a L .ding let mit. 1 h s hat Nygard did. He got the permit application back on Oct. 15, with "Denied" stamped in red ink. The explanation: City ordinances lay out al- low-able "accessory uses" in his Lakeshore dis- trict zoning, and a wind generator isn't one of them. That seemed arbitrary to Nygard and his at- torney, Milton Nordmeyer. `You can't just dis- allow everything," Nordmeyer said. In fact, city zoning ordinances typically pro hibit everything that is not explicitly allowed, said Ross, the planning consultant. Ross said he's aware of some Minnesota municipalities allowing home turbines on an individual basis, but he said local governments are hampered by the lack of a turbine track record While of- ficials may want to encourage energy self-suffi- ciency, they have to weigh that against how the units look, what they sound like and whether they actually work, Ross said. The potential of opening the floodgates to all sorts of structures is what concerns white, the Orono mayor. "It doesn't take the brains God gave a goat to find out these things come in all shapes and sizes," he said. white said he recently suggested to the City Council that it should plan for wind turbines. Nygard could petition the council to amend the ordinance, al- though it's not cheap $700 to file a petition., plus reimbursing city staffers for the cost of re- searching the subject. Nygard took another tack. Having served on the City Council from 2000 to 2003, and then quitting mid-term after a dispute over his rocky interactions with city staff, Nygard isn't afraid to tussle with the city. Ile roved aroun town with his camera, snapping photos of bas- ketball goals, light posts and other poles than he said were allowed without permits or ordi- nance changes. "Why do all these people get their poles ant I don't get my pole he said. It was Nygard's decision to go ahead and in stall the concrete platform that really provoke( the city. The Nov. 16 stop work order directef Nygard to tear up the concrete and abandon his wind turbine or face prosecution. He vwa: given a deadline of Nov 24, which was extend ed to Dec. L He said Thursday he would rath er pay for a lawyer and fight the city than tea up his concrete. He can't put up the wind generator, however because it hasn't yet arrived from Taiwan.