A retired couple and a local environmental group have lost their appeal of Antigonish County council’s decision to rezone land for a proposed wind farm.
Donald and Helen Brown, who live near the site, and the Eco Awareness Society are not "aggrieved persons" as defined by the Municipal Government Act, Roland Deveau of the Utility and Review Board said in a decision released Tuesday.
With the appeal being dismissed, a hearing set to begin next Tuesday in Antigonish is no longer necessary, said Deveau, who reached his decision after getting together with all parties at a preliminary meeting last month.
Deveau’s formal decision, with reasons, is expected to be released next week, said review board spokesman Paul Allen.
The dispute started after county council approved the rezoning of nine properties in February. The rezoning opened the door for Shear Wind Inc. of Bedford to proceed with the $150-million Glen Dhu wind-power project with 30 turbines along the boundary of Antigonish and Pictou counties.
In evidence filed to the review board, the Browns alleged they were "aggrieved persons" and that council’s decision would deny them their right to reasonable enjoyment of their property. They also said their proximity to the turbines would devalue their property.
According to the Municipal Government Act, an "aggrieved person" is someone who believes a council decision "will adversely affect the value, or reasonable enjoyment" of that person’s property.
Donald Brown, a retired 81-year-old, declined to comment Thursday on the board’s decision and referred all questions to his lawyer, whose name he would not disclose.
"I have nothing to say about it," Brown said. "There’s people taking care of that."
Peter McInroy, lawyer for the Eco Awareness Society, referred all questions to society president Kristen Overmyer, who was not available for comment.
Shear Wind president Mike Magnus said, "Overall, we are pleased and respect the decision of the URB."
The company wants to install 14 turbines in Antigonish County and the remainder near Baileys Brook, Pictou County.
The Glen Dhu wind farm is scheduled to begin producing electricity by the end of this year — enough to power 17,500 homes.
From their home on Glendu Road in Baileys Brook, the Browns will be able to see eight turbines that will be within 1.5 kilometres of their residence.
In a February interview with The Chronicle Herald, Brown said he and his wife retired to the area from Toronto about eight years ago for the "view and the solitude," and he had "great fears that the turbines will interfere with our lives."
He also said he was concerned about the effect of wind turbines on people’s health and about the relatively short distance between the turbines and the nearest homes.
Shear Wind received provincial environmental approval in February for the 60-megawatt electricity project.
Glen Dhu was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was unable to secure enough financing until late last year when Spanish conglomerate Inveravante bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million.
Shares in Shear Wind were up one cent Thursday, closing at 22 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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