WILTON — Voters were overwhelmingly in favor of enacting a 180-day Elective Electrical Transmission Corridor Moratorium during a special town meeting Tuesday evening.

There are no town ordinances governing such projects, and the vote defers any new elective electrical transmission applications.

Of the more than 100 voters at the meeting, three were opposed to the moratorium.

Wilton voters overwhelmingly vote in favor of enacting an Elective Electrical Transmission Corridor Moratorium during a special town meeting Tuesday at G.D. Cushing School. Dee Menear/Franklin Journal

The deferment will not affect projects already approved by the board, such as construction of a Central Maine Power substation on Main Street.

“What this means is that we, as a community, will determine how elective power lines might come through this town,”  Selectperson Tom Saviello said. “We can look at noise. We can look at visual impact. We can look at the impact on wildlife. It will be up to us during a public process to put that together with the Planning Board so that if someone does come in with an application, it will have to meet our requirements.”

The Planning Board would be responsible for drafting the ordinance with public input, Saviello said.

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“Any changes they put into place will have to go to town meeting for a vote on the final product,” he said.

The moratorium can be extended for an additional 180-days if voters approve.

Saviello and Code Enforcement Officer Charlie Lavin previously formed a committee with residents to address concerns about the effects of alternative power projects and Central Maine Power’s proposed $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line to bring hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts.

After the meeting, selectpersons met and favored holding a special town meeting to vote on an Adult Use Marijuana Moratorium.

Lavin said the Planning Board had been inundated with requests for potential adult-use marijuana businesses. The board wanted to work on an ordinance to present at the 2020 town meeting, he said.

Voters approved adding marijuana-use tables to the Zoning Ordinance at the June town meeting. The tables encompass both medical and adult-use marijuana retail stores, manufacturing facilities, testing facilities and registered dispensaries.

“What we don’t have is licensing criteria, fee structures or limits on the number of establishments permitted,” Lavin said.

The board will review the warrant and set a date at its next meeting on Oct. 15.


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