For the first time Thursday, supporters of Borrego Energy’s proposed Middleburgh wind project outnumbered those opposed to it by nearly 3-1.
But it was too little too late.
And all of the crowd of 100-plus had left when a little after 8pm, Supervisor Wes Laraway and councilmen took the first steps toward amending their Zoning Law to outlaw all utility-scale wind and solar.
In the regular business portion of Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Laraway and councilmen declared the Town of Middleburgh lead agency in the required SEQRA review of the Zoning Law change,
Then, they set a 6pm April 14 public hearing on extending the wind moratorium for three more months; that’s when they’ll also begin discussions on the ban.
In May, they would vote on whether to ban all utility-scale wind and solar; it would require four “yes” votes to pass.
“If that happens, we’re not going to do any large-scale wind or solar,” Mr. Laraway said to the mostly-empty room.

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Thursday’s public hearing was a continuation of one opened in February and Mr. Laraway told the crowd at the start that they had just 44 minutes to weigh in; a second hearing on condominiums was set for 6:45pm, with the town’s regular meeting slated to begin at 7.
“Please, if you’ve spoken before, let others speak,” he said.
Mr. Laraway speed-read through more than a half-dozen letters submitted on the Lawton Hollow Road project with supporters of Fred and Barbara Echtner pointing to the need to develop green energy and help local farmers.
“They have earned the right to do what they need to do with their land,” said Megan and Kyle Miller.
Carter Warner said he “100 percent” supports the project as a “real positive for the community.”
Mike Parker, one of a dozen orange-shirted union members with “Laborers Support Middleburgh Community Wind” signs, said he likes looking at them and argued with the generations of taxes the Echtners have paid, “They should be able to do anything they want with their land.”
Arnold and Lorraine Fancher called for the town to “release” the moratorium, asking, “Would you rather see a 500-acre subdivison or stone quarry?”
Most of the project’s opponents heeded Mr. Lawaway’s request; they’d spoken before.
Neighbor Yoav Tadmer presented a petition of 530 signatures opposing the project; another neighbor, Angelique Piwinski, cut her remarks short but said “No one has the right to make a buck destroying my quality of life…And no, you can’t do whatever you want with your land.”
Most of the crowd dispersed in the brief break between hearings.
The SEQRA resolution wasn’t on the town’s preliminary agenda, however copies of it were at the sign-in table.