Wayne Blocks Wind Power Turbine Under New Rules

It didn't take long for Wayne, New Jersey to start flexing its new zoning regulations to block the application of a wind power turbine on a commercial property along Hamburg Turnpike. The owner of the property sought to get the wind power turbine approved before the new rules take effect on September 30, but the town rejected the application anyway.

It took till after midnight before the Wayne planning board rejected an application for a 50-foot-high wind turbine at an auto spa after the business owner pressed for a vote.

The board wanted more time, but Robert Burke, the owner of the car wash and quick lube on the Hamburg Turnpike, pushed for a vote before a new zoning ordinance goes into affect Sept. 30 that would set another hurdle for the project.

The new zoning prohibits wind turbines within 1,640 feet of residential neighborhoods, schools or day care centers. The car wash abuts a residential neighborhood and is about 120 feet from a pre-school.

Burke would have to seek a variance from the board, in addition to his application for minor site plan approval, if the hearing on the application had continued to another date.

Don't hold your breath that Burke will have his variance approved. As I've previously noted, Wayne was using new zoning rules to prohibit the construction of wind power projects within a quarter mile of residential areas, essentially blocking any such projects from being built in Wayne.

So much for being green.