Published: July 27, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Furthermore …
Indiana Tech’s towering proposal
While controversy continues in Whitley County over the possibility of a massive wind-farm operation, local zoning regulators are addressing a much more limited proposal that will pose similar questions: Should Indiana Tech be allowed to erect a wind turbine standing about 12 stories tall with blades of 14 feet in length?
The university has both practical and aesthetic reasons behind the proposal. The turbine would provide electricity for the university’s Zollner Engineering Building, where engineering students would have a unique opportunity for hands-on study of the turbines. And towering above the campus east of downtown, the turbine would undoubtedly became an iconic landmark denoting the school.
But before granting the request for a zoning waiver, members of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals also need to study how the turbine would affect the East Central neighborhood, one that Indiana Tech has improved.
The proposed site of the tower – near Maumee Avenue and South Anthony Boulevard – may be far enough away from homes to have minimal effect. But the appeals board may well want a downsized tower.
The university has both practical and aesthetic reasons behind the proposal. The turbine would provide electricity for the university’s Zollner Engineering Building, where engineering students would have a unique opportunity for hands-on study of the turbines. And towering above the campus east of downtown, the turbine would undoubtedly became an iconic landmark denoting the school.
But before granting the request for a zoning waiver, members of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals also need to study how the turbine would affect the East Central neighborhood, one that Indiana Tech has improved.
The proposed site of the tower – near Maumee Avenue and South Anthony Boulevard – may be far enough away from homes to have minimal effect. But the appeals board may well want a downsized tower.
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