KNOX — The town board raised the ire of some Knox citizens last week when it considered holding public hearings on two proposed laws: one a moratorium on windmills, and the other an ordinance aimed at curbing noise from dirt bikes.

The regular board meeting last Tuesday took on the atmosphere of a public hearing, as residents lobbied for the town to drop the proposals.

Windmill moratorium

The moratorium on windmills was called for by the planning board. Planning board Chairman Robert Price said the Hilltowns are a prime spot to generate energy from wind, and commercial interests may soon be seeking to erect giant turbines. Currently, Price said, the town has nothing in its zoning ordinance that addresses windmills.

The moratorium, proposed for one year, will give the town a chance to enact windmill regulations before developers try to build, Price said. Price spoke positively about the financial benefits the wind business could bring to the town, but cautioned against proceeding without dealing with the zoning issues.

Commercial windmills stand about 400 feet tall.

Already, one Hilltown group has begun work on a wind project. Funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Hilltown Wind Forum is developing a model for a small, community-owned wind farm in the Hilltowns. The forum wants to erect a 160-foot meteorological tower in Knox for at least a year to measure windspeed.
The moratorium applies to meteorological towers, along with any "wind energy deriving" towers. County Legislator Alexander "Sandy" Gordon, one of the project’s leaders, told the town board the moratorium will set back the community wind project and asked that the temporary structure be excluded from the moratorium.

Price told The Enterprise this Tuesday that, if the town passes the moratorium, it could still grant the community wind project a site plan review on the tower based on strict requirements. The planning board could then approve the project, even during the moratorium, "If they comply with everything we want," Price said.

The information recorded by the tower could help the town in the planning process, Price said.

Russell and Amy Pokorny, owners of the property for the proposed meteorological tower, also plan to erect a small private windmill, unrelated to the community wind project. In a statement to the town board, the Pokornys said small, private windmills should not be considered in the same league as the large commercial ones.
"The windmill that we plan at our home is a modern quiet slow-moving model that weighs 45 pounds, and cannot be heard over the sounds of the wind at 300 feet away," the Pokornys said in their statement. They have already paid for some of the equipment, they said.

Price said the zoning ordinance doesn’t say anything about any windmills, large or small, so the moratorium should apply to both.
In addition to windmills and turbines, the moratorium also forbids "wireless telecommunications facilities or associated transmission facilities."

Though there was very little discussion of wireless towers at the board meeting, Price told The Enterprise the town would like a cellular tower, but wants to pass some regulations first. Cellular coverage is sparse to non-existent in the Hilltowns.

The public hearing on the moratorium is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the town hall.

Noise ordinance
"We shouldn’t even be considering this," said one avid dirt biker.

In September, a resident, Timothy Thompson, showed the town board a video of the effects of dirt-bike racing near his property on Thompson’s Lake Road. On the recording, the sounds of the machines were audible inside Thompsons’s house.

Knox Supervisor Michael Hammond says that the town has received a few similar complaints over the past several years. Last September, the town board charged the planning board with investigating a change in the zoning ordinance to include regulations on dirt bikes. According to Hammond, several other towns in New York have such laws.
Last week, town attorney John Dorfman presented a draft. It says it’s unlawful to operate a motorcycle, without a muffler or with an inadequate muffler, on private or public property "in such a manner as to create loud, unnecessary or unusual noise, so as to disturb or interfere with the peace and tranquility of any other person or persons."

It’s also unlawful for a property owner to allow such behavior, the draft says.

Violators, the draft says, are subject to a $250 fine, up to 15 days in jail, and, in the case of a second violation, confiscation of the bike.
Some of those at last week’s meeting questioned the law’s vagueness. It sets no decibel limit and doesn’t define an "inadequate muffler," they said. Most bikes sold meet the sound requirements of the American Motorcyclist Association, the riders said.

Dorfman countered that the town doesn’t have the personnel or equipment to measure decibels. It’s a highly technical process to get an accurate reading, Dorfman said. The town’s zoning enforcement officer would be responsible for ticketing violators, and the case would be heard in town court.

Despite objections from residents, the board voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the law. Some members said they saw problems with law, but felt the town has received enough complaints on the issue to warrant a public hearing. The town can still change the bill after the hearing is held.
"You have everything to gain by having this public hearing and nothing to lose," Councilman Nicholas Viscio told the angry residents. Viscio noted that he often pilots a noise-making powered parachute over the town, so he understands the dirt bikers’ concerns.

The public hearing is scheduled for May 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the town hall