BUCKFIELD — On Saturday, June 26, residents will meet at 9 a.m. at the Buckfield Junior-Senior High School to vote on 46 town warrant articles including a wind ordinance.

The 50-page wind ordinance addresses different aspects of wind turbine farms in the town. If the ordinance passes, it becomes effective immediately.

The proposed ordinance states that the Planning Board has all permitting authority on wind turbines and it will only review one application at a time.

There are four types of wind turbine classifications in the ordinance.

Type one is a single turbine with an output of less than 10 kilowatt and a height of less than 100 feet.

Type two is an intermediate single turbine with less than 100 kW and less than 150 feet in height.

Type three includes up to three turbines with 100 kW to 1 megawatt and 150 to 300 feet in height.

Type four is described as an industrial turbine with one or more turbines with a capacity greater than 1 mW and greater than 300 feet in height.

Public hearings will be scheduled within 63 days of the Planning Board receiving an application.

Meteorological towers are allowed under the ordinance with no height limitations.

The ordinance states that background sound levels will be determined by measuring present noise at a nonparticipating land owner’s property line. New background sound levels can not exceed the present level by more than 3 decibels at night or 5 dB during the day and evening.

Separate restrictions apply to the low frequency sounds associated with wind-turbine operation.

Setback standards are described in the proposed ordinance as 1 mile or 13 times the turbine height. Property owners may waive this setback with a mitigation waiver.

The net budget to be voted on is $1,984,049 with a mil rate of $19.35 per $1,000 of assessed property value. This represents a 35 cent increase over last year.

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