The Whalerock Saga:

Whalerock Renewable Energy, LLC., is seeking a Special Use Permit  from the Charlestown Zoning Board to construct a pair of 410’ industrial wind turbines on 81 acres of pristine land abutting a decades-old residential neighborhood on one side and a Narragansett Indian affordable housing development for tribal elders on the other.

Currently zoned R-2A for residential homes sited on two acre lots, in accordance with the Charlestown Comprehensive Plan, the parcel is the proposed sight for a pair of 410’ industrial wind turbines, manufactured by Vestas, a Denmark-based wind energy conglomerate.  Whalerock Renewable Energy is owned by a local, long-time property developer and home builder.

A majority of abutters in the Sachem Passage neighborhood and additional homes on King’s Factory Road, including members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, live between 500 -1000 feet of the proposed site.

Ill Wind's position on the project is as follows:

The Whalerock project violates the Charlestown's Comprehensive Plan which stipulates that the Town  “allow and encourage development that protects the cultural resources including historic villages, structures, and landscapes, scenic vistas and open areas, architectural heritage, and natural features that are important in defining the town’s scenic rural character.”

Two town councilors, holdovers from the previous town council that had entered into an ill-conceived and now-defunct public-private partnership with Whalerock, as well as a majority of the Zoning Board of Review, continue to ignore the real economic impact to the town tax base that will occur when properties  located within a 2 mile radius of the proposed development are devalued by significant amounts based on their proximity to the industrial structures.  Beyond the monetary harm done to individual homeowners, property owners townwide will need to pay higher taxes to compensate for revenue shortfalls due to projected property devaluation of the targeted real estate.

The same councilors and zoning board members continue to ignore the potential for lost revenues available from the Scenic Roadways Program, which currently designates Route 1 as a “National Scenic Byway” signaling eligibility for federal funding disbursed to towns which encourage environmental protections for natural flora, vegetation, and wildlife. Route 1 through Charlestown features these  unique characteristics of Rhode Island’s geological terminal moraine, the exact siting of the Vestas machinery. 

The official record of the previous Charlestown Town Council reflects a history of clandestine dealings among certain councilors and a single developer. Town Council minutes over the last twenty months are rife with evidence of  preferential treatment accorded the developer in pursuit of considerable profits from the development of an industrial project within a residential zone, at the expense of surrounding home owners. 

Transcribed minutes of town council meetings contain references by the developer suggesting that any land use projects other than industrial wind turbines would be disadvantageous to Charlestown.  Several councilors accepted the developer’s opinion and initiated a process to “fast track” the  Whalerock proposal.

This process resulted in the drafting and passage of a Wind Ordinance that, in the opinion of the then-sitting Planning Commission, violated Rhode Island state law as well as the town’s Comprehensive Plan.  The Wind Ordinance failed to adequately address basic health and safety needs of the townspeople, especially the abutting home owners.  Provisions in the Wind Ordinance failed to meet even the recommended setback standards stipulated by the wind turbine manufacturer.

The recent Zoning Board of Review decision of January 2011, currently the subject of an appeal to the Rhode Island Superior Court, would allow this project to move forward for consideration by Planning and Zoning.

The Zoning Board’s ruling effectively asserts that Whalerock is “vested” under the terms of the original wind ordinance and may proceed with its proposal with no regard for the health, safety, and welfare of the community. In essence, Whalerock is free, with the blessings of the previous Town Council, to ignore the Town Comprehensive Plan. The amended wind ordinance crafted by the Planning Commission to rectify the shortcomings of the original flawed document would not apply to the Whaleriock application.

As of this writing, the current Town Council voted 3-2 (the dissenters being the holdover councilors from the previous council, Councilors Frank and Avedesian) in support of the following motion offered by current Town Council President Thomas Gentz:

"I move that the Town Solicitor (Peter Ruggiero) be authorized to take any and all actions necessary to overturn the decision of the Zoning Board that the Whalerock wind generator project is vested and not subject to the temporary moratorium on wind generator system applications."

To be continued. Court is in session.