Not everyone endorses the winds of change in Wellington North, including one person who happens to own an airport.
Frank Spoelstra, owner of the Palmerston Airport, near Teviotdale, came to council on Monday night to voice his objections to the Roubos Wind Turbines proposal.
Officially, the airport in Teviotdale is listed in Canada VFR Flight Supplement as Palmerston CPR3.
Late last year, Spoelstra sent council a letter outlining his position.
“I operate an airport, located on the First Line of Minto near Teviotdale. The airport is registered with Transport Canada and is listed in the Canada Flight supplement under the name of Palmerston.
“It has recently been acknowledged in the Wellington Advertiser that, in future, planning for windfarms will have to take into account the airports in the area of the windfarm and specific mention was made to the Guelph airport and the Arthur East glider aerodrome.
“I am writing this letter to you for the purposes of putting you on notice that in the event there are future proposals for windfarms or any other high tower project within approximately a five mile radius of the Palmerston aerodrome, I would respectfully request that I am notified so that I can attend council meetings to discuss the need to maintain safe departure and approach clearance for both day and night operations on all four runways of my airport.”
Also included on council’s agenda was a letter from Robert Johns, Spoelstra’s legal representative, who wrote, “It would appear that these windmills would be on a direct line with one of Mr. Spoelstra’s runways and less than 4km from the same.”
Johns added, “He is concerned that their installations would represent a safety hazard for the airport.”
But Wellington County planner Mark Van Patter took a different view.
He wrote to council the facility was situated on the west elbow of the First Line in Minto.
“I am quite familiar with the location; I stop and have lunch on the road during my travels,” Van patter said. “Use of the facility is fairly low in my experience.”
He noted the proposal for the two wind turbines in Wellington North are subject to an ongoing rezoning.
“Understandably, Mr. Spoelstra has some concerns about the effect of the turbines on his flying facility. However, I believe that Mr. Johns letter is incorrect in stating that the separation of the two facilities is less than 4km.”
Van Patter calculated the distance at 4.547km.
He cited the portion of the county’s official plan that states large wind energy systems be no closer than 10km from established aerodromes or certified airports unless written approval came from Transport Canada and NavCanada. It also states that there be at least 4km from the centre points of the runways, and the ends of the runways, of the Guelph Airpark or York Soaring Club.
“I would note that both the Guelph Airpark and the York Soaring Club are considerably busier than Mr. Spoelstra’s facility and only a 4km setback is require,” he wrote.
Van Patter added that he believes the existing setback is sufficient.
“I will be sure to keep in mind Mr. Spoelstra’s facility should we get any further applications for wind power in the immediate area of Wellington North, Minto and Mapleton.”
At the council meeting Spoelstra said he had read an article in the Wellington Advertiser about the inclusion of distance separation for wind generation projects.
“When I read that last August, I wondered why the Palmerston airport was not included in the list [of airports in the resolution.”
He said his lawyer recommended sending letters to area councils, because the wind generation issue could crop up anywhere. He sent letters to Wellington North, Minto, Mapleton and North Perth.
After an original meeting with a county planner, he pointed out the Palmerston airport was missed from its list.
“I think we were simply overlooked as an airport.”
While he said some might think that strange, he anticipated a number of residents are unaware of its existence since it is located away from County Road 109, on a sideroad near Teviotdale.
“If you are not involved with aviation, we’re too far off the highway to be seen.”
Spoelstra contended the response he got from the county planning department was odd, because he was told the facility was not included because it was not very busy.
“We’re a public airport.” He compared it to a parking lot at a mall, and said the parking lot in itself does not make money, but the business associated with it – does.
“Our airport is the same way. It’s beginning to look like we were overlooked as an airport, but they don’t seem to want to admit that.”
He intends to take the information further to the county to be included in the planning document. He had concern with the distance of separation to the end of the runway, since he is not convinced additional turbines would not be built. Those turbines could be closer than that distance.
He believes council was not being asked to zone two towers, but 200 acres of land, and the back of the property is much closer than 4km to his airport.
Mayor Mike Broomhead later explained the rezoning was to allow just two turbines. Any more turbines would require additional amendments.
Broomhead said he believes it could be accommodated through the 4.5 kilometer separation. However, he added that Spoelstra has good points.
Broomhead said, having lived in the area, he had not known about the facility. He offered assurance the matter would investigated.
The mayor stated the township has done extensive research on the issue. The idea was to anticipate issues such as this one, which, he said, is why additional public meetings were held.
“We do appreciate the coverage the press has given us. It helps us.”
He noted Spoelstra picked up on the issue because of its coverage in the Newspaper.
“When we put this in place, it was for a reason.”
He said council has heard the horror stories, and also good things about turbines when they are utilized properly.
The mayor said the information about the airport was new to council. Now that it is aware, Broomhead said councillors will act on the information.
He stressed the bylaw is site specific for the two turbines – period.
That is all there is a permit for, Broomhead said.
