Legislative findings; purpose

A. The Town Council of the Town of East Greenwich finds, determines, and declares that, in accordance with R.I.G.L. § 45-24-27 et seq., the Town is empowered to regulate and control land use in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents. The Town has made a thorough study of wind energy systems as a land use and has identified several issues, especially pertaining to potential negative impacts on the environment and on the health of residents in the vicinity of turbines, that are cause for concern in siting such facilities.
B. The Town has determined that, in much of the community, given the density and proximity of properties and the existing mix of uses within the Town limits, and given the sheer size and scale of most effective wind energy systems, such construction would be inconsistent with protection of the general health, safety and welfare. Such systems have an inherent impact on community character and aesthetics and would not be consistent with preserving the cultural and historical fabric of downtown or other historically zoned areas or the visual character of our scenic corridors.
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. IV).
C. The purpose of this article is to accommodate wind energy systems in appropriate geographic locations and at appropriate scales while simultaneously protecting the public health, safety and welfare. This article will provide for a review and approval process for limited wind energy projects that will ensure compliance with the standards and regulations established herein. A special use permit process will be created for the construction and operation of wind systems, providing clear standards for the placement, design, construction, monitoring, modification and removal of wind facilities to address public safety and minimize impacts on the scenic, natural and historic resources of the Town and to provide adequate financial assurances regarding the viability of such projects from construction, through operation and maintenance, to ultimate decommissioning and removal.