The newest iteration of the Johnston Town Council has unanimously approved an amended ordinance heavily restricting wind turbine construction, limiting development to small pockets of industrial-zoned areas while requiring special use permits.
The council was sworn in before proceedings began, as Mayor Joseph Polisena administered the oath to the four incumbents — President Robert Russo, Vice President Joseph Polisena Jr., District 1 Councilwoman Linda Folcarelli and District 5 Councilman Robert Civetti — and District 2’s new councilwoman, Lauren Garzone. Russo and Polisena Jr. were unanimously re-elected to their respective posts.
Polisena Jr. promised the most restrictive turbine ordinance in the state during the council’s December meeting, vowing to ban wind farms altogether.
The proposed law came in response to consternation from residents concerned that an amendment – which was withdrawn before getting to the council – aimed at tightening restrictions on a District 5 parcel could be pave the way for wind development. Solicitor Dylan Conley said that night that Johnston has an “intense standard of review” for its approval process and dispelled any fears of a biomass plant or other such projects.
“I realize that the residents need and deserve something more to kind of quell all of the fear that’s been going on,” Polisena said in December. “So to end the worry and dispel false notions … at next month’s council meeting, I along with Councilman Civetti will be sponsoring an ordinance that institutes a ban on any future development on any wind turbine throughout the town of Johnston. There are the facts, these are the truths of the matter. I hope it gives you the peace of mind and reassurance that you deserve.”
Despite Polisena’s desire to permanently ban the structures, Conley said during Monday’s session that the legislation could be overturned in court since wind turbines already exist in some parts of Johnston. Conley said the Planning Board unanimously recommended that the council amend the ordinance, allowing for wind turbines only in industrial zones by special use permit. The farms also cannot be within 500 feet of a residential zone.
“Our research and experience just limited to the town of Johnston is that a total ban in a zoning proposal risks being overturned in court,” Conley said. “One of the other components of due process is other similar properties and uses be treated in a similar manner.”
Conley cited a recent example to explain how the town could lose in court, referencing a 2016 settlement with Belknap Church. The town was prohibiting church use, but the matter was resulted in a legal battled because of “comparable uses permitted in the same district.” Johnston eventually settled, updating its use code and allowing Belknap to continue operating as a church.
“Do not do an all-out ban, but require special use permits in industrial zones,” Conley said, offering his and the Planning Board’s recommendations. “[It’s] not so restrictive that some applicant could come forward and say, ‘Why is this being banned, we have other similar uses in the town’ … The chance of a total ban being litigated and backfiring is pretty good. We’ve already had that instance occurring in the town of Johnston.”
Conley reiterated that, with this ordinance or without, there is no possibility of erecting a wind turbine in Johnston without a set of public hearings. Polisena Jr. asked if this amended version was the most restrictive legislation the council could pass, which Conley confirmed.
With no public comment and little discussion from the group, the amended ordinance passed 5-0.
“The area of the two which wind turbines could possibly be built is effectively the area surrounding the landfill,” Conley said. “It may sound counterintuitive at first but an all-out ban, based on our research and past precedent in court, is a less restrictive ban that this special use permit for industrial zones … Courts do not like total bans.”
“[We’re] taking this practical step, which is essentially an all-out ban because of that 500 feet, that it isn’t going to be around anybody,” Polisena Jr. said. “This accomplishes what we’re all looking for.”
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