While I understand you point of view, please let me say that the occasional 200 foot tall, slender cell phone tower and hundreds of miles of expensive, tax-payer-funded and massive 500 foot tall moving industrial machines atop our summits are...well, apples and oranges.
But that's neither here nor there. This story isn't about wind turbines, or about how they look. It is about right and wrong. It is about fairness. It is about the fact that less than 1% of your fellow Mainers had their rights summarily removed, without notice, and without our knowledge or input.
If you live in an organized municipality, you still have a say in any zoning or re-zoning decisions which might confront your community.
If you live in a UT OUTSIDE the EPA, you also have a process in which you can make your voice heard pertaining to zoning changes.
But we had that same right taken from us by an industry which wanted something we had... and didn't want --or dare--to ask us if we were okay with their taking.
Passage of LD616 will not disallow 'wind' within these communities. What it WILL do is restore to us the right and the ability to have input into whether or not such development is an acceptable use.
If you enjoy the freedom to 'have a say', I hope you'll respect and support our request to have that same freedom restored to us.
I agree that scenic impact alone is no reason to oppose a wind development. If the positive benefits of grid-scale industrial wind outweighed its negative impacts, scenic impact might be considered a negligible argument.
But this issue isn't one about 'wind' OR about how turbines look atop Maine's mountain summits. THIS issue-- this BILL-- is about citizens' rights. About fairness. About all Mainers standing on equal footing. 'Wind' has little to do with it... and only does at all, due to the fact that the bill wouldn't be necessary except for the Expedited Permitting Area, which was part of the Maine Wind Energy Act of 2008.
If you believe less than 1% of rural Mainers should have fewer rights than their fellow citizens, then it is okay to oppose LD616. But if you believe we should have an equal say in the zoning decisions of our homes towns-- as almost all Mainers do-- then you will support our request.
This bill isn't about 'wind', no matter what the industry and its supporters say.
Respectfully,
Karen Pease
Steven Pease
Jocelia Pease
Elias Pease
Lexington Twp., Maine
LD616 is NOT about industrial wind on Maine's mountain summits.
LD616 is a CITIZENS' RIGHTS bill.
The only reason 'wind' is in the picture AT ALL is because it was the 2008 Wind Energy Act which implemented the Expedited Permitting Zone. This law was the vehicle by which less than 1% of Maine citizens lost a right that 99% of our fellow Mainers still retain.
Please don't cloud the issue, or allow 'wind' proponents to do the same. We lost our right to participate in the re-zoning of our communities...but almost everyone else in Maine DIDN'T. We are simply asking to have those rights restored to us.
This bill should be a 'no brainer'. If you are not willing or able to look your neighbors in the eye and say "I deserve more rights than you do", then you will not only support this bill, you will ask the members of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee to do the same.
Cell phone towers, etc....
Hi Claire,
While I understand you point of view, please let me say that the occasional 200 foot tall, slender cell phone tower and hundreds of miles of expensive, tax-payer-funded and massive 500 foot tall moving industrial machines atop our summits are...well, apples and oranges.
But that's neither here nor there. This story isn't about wind turbines, or about how they look. It is about right and wrong. It is about fairness. It is about the fact that less than 1% of your fellow Mainers had their rights summarily removed, without notice, and without our knowledge or input.
If you live in an organized municipality, you still have a say in any zoning or re-zoning decisions which might confront your community.
If you live in a UT OUTSIDE the EPA, you also have a process in which you can make your voice heard pertaining to zoning changes.
But we had that same right taken from us by an industry which wanted something we had... and didn't want --or dare--to ask us if we were okay with their taking.
Passage of LD616 will not disallow 'wind' within these communities. What it WILL do is restore to us the right and the ability to have input into whether or not such development is an acceptable use.
If you enjoy the freedom to 'have a say', I hope you'll respect and support our request to have that same freedom restored to us.
Respectfully,
Karen Pease
Hi Betty...
Hi.
I just wanted to reply to your comment.
I agree that scenic impact alone is no reason to oppose a wind development. If the positive benefits of grid-scale industrial wind outweighed its negative impacts, scenic impact might be considered a negligible argument.
But this issue isn't one about 'wind' OR about how turbines look atop Maine's mountain summits. THIS issue-- this BILL-- is about citizens' rights. About fairness. About all Mainers standing on equal footing. 'Wind' has little to do with it... and only does at all, due to the fact that the bill wouldn't be necessary except for the Expedited Permitting Area, which was part of the Maine Wind Energy Act of 2008.
If you believe less than 1% of rural Mainers should have fewer rights than their fellow citizens, then it is okay to oppose LD616. But if you believe we should have an equal say in the zoning decisions of our homes towns-- as almost all Mainers do-- then you will support our request.
This bill isn't about 'wind', no matter what the industry and its supporters say.
Respectfully,
Karen Pease
Steven Pease
Jocelia Pease
Elias Pease
Lexington Twp., Maine
Off on an tangent....
Oh, my word!
Please understand this fundamental issue...
LD616 is NOT about industrial wind on Maine's mountain summits.
LD616 is a CITIZENS' RIGHTS bill.
The only reason 'wind' is in the picture AT ALL is because it was the 2008 Wind Energy Act which implemented the Expedited Permitting Zone. This law was the vehicle by which less than 1% of Maine citizens lost a right that 99% of our fellow Mainers still retain.
Please don't cloud the issue, or allow 'wind' proponents to do the same. We lost our right to participate in the re-zoning of our communities...but almost everyone else in Maine DIDN'T. We are simply asking to have those rights restored to us.
This bill should be a 'no brainer'. If you are not willing or able to look your neighbors in the eye and say "I deserve more rights than you do", then you will not only support this bill, you will ask the members of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee to do the same.
They can be reached here:
RepMel.Newendyke@legislature.maine.gov
lanceharvell@hotmail.com
RepAaron.Libby@legislature.maine.gov
skime2@roadrunner.com
oronoryan@gmail.com
RepDeane.Rykerson@legislature.maine.gov
RepSara.Gideon@legislature.maine.gov
RepDiane.Russell@legislature.maine.gov
RepBobbi.Beavers@legislature.maine.gov
RepBarry.Hobbins@legislature.maine.gov
jcleveland@cdcorp.org
jacksonforsenate@hotmail.com
edmyoungblood@gmail.com
Respectfully and gratefully,
Karen Pease
Lexington Twp., Maine