Penn Forest to revise turbine law

Penn Forest Township is revising its wind turbine ordinance, after Atlantic Wind has submitted applications for special exception permits.

A special meeting to detail the ordinance will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Penn Forest Township Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 on Route 903 in Penn Forest Township.

Proposed amendments to the 2011 ordinance include wind turbines as a principal use and allowing two or more wind turbines per lot.

In April 2016 Atlantic Wind filed an application for a wind turbine project in Penn Forest Township. That application has an approved special exception permit from the township’s zoning hearing board. Several township residents have appealed the decision.

A number of residents told the board that the current zoning ordinance, which allows for the special exception was inadequate and needed to be modified, taking into consideration industrial turbines and not just accessory structures for residential use.

Resident Marcus Laurence has been an outspoken opponent of the Atlantic Wind project and approached the township supervisors shortly after the first application was filed. Lawrence made suggestions for an amended ordinance.

The supervisors agreed to take the matter under consideration and hired a firm to review the suggested changes.

In the meantime, Atlantic Wind has filed a second application which is still under the existing ordinance. The second application is currently before the zoning hearing board. This project has fewer turbines, but they are almost 100 feet higher than the original design.