By John Patten Managing Editor
A decision to consider recommendations from the Sourland Planning Council took the wind out of the sails of an ordinance setting guidelines for wind energy systems, Monday.
The ordinance would create specifications for wind generators, making them conditional uses in the township’s agriculture, mountain, cultural and corporate development zones.
The change would simplify planning for those hoping to install such renewable energy systems, allowing them to obtain approval through the Planning Board. Currently, the systems require a variance through the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
”New Jersey is pretty much at the forefront of renewable energy,” Committeeman Paul Drake said, adding that with passage of the ordinance, “Hillsborough can be in the driver’s seat.”
But a request from Steve Bales, a Sourland Planning Council trustee and Hillsborough resident, to include some restrictions on windmill placement in the mountain zone caused the committee to postpone the ordinance’s introduction.
Mr. Bales said the SPC was concerned the ordinance didn’t include provisions to limit where windmills could be placed, adding the zone’s 10-acre minimum may not adequately safeguard the area’s habitat.
The nonprofit group, formed by area residents to “protect the ecological integrity, historical resources and special character of the Sourland Mountain region,” is concerned landowners could “clear-cut” areas for windmills that might interfere with wildlife habitats, especially some of the neotropical birds who migrate and nest there.
”We want the renewable energy, but we want to direct it in the most appropriate manner,” Mr. Bales said, after the meeting.
Rather than try to alter the wording of the ordinance to vote on its introduction this week, the committee members with Mayor Anthony Ferrera and Committeeman Carl Suraci absent moved to table the ordinance.
Mr. Drake said he would consult with the SPC, along with Township Planner Robert Ringelheim and attorney Albert Cruz to add the provisions suggested by Mr. Bales. He said he would like to introduce the rewritten ordinance at the Nov. 27 Township Committee meeting, with a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 26.
