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Date: 9/11/2019
HUNTINGTON – On Aug. 22, Huntington architect Jeffrey Scott Penn wrote a letter to the Russell Select Board and Huntington town officials objecting to the visibility from many points in town of the crane erecting the north turbine of the Holiday Hill Community Wind Project.
Penn said neither the Huntington Board of Selectmen nor the Planning Board were contacted or advised of the construction, noting that Huntington is potentially more affected by the view of the turbine than Russell.
In his letter to officials in both towns, Penn wrote: “… this feature, while good for clean energy, will seriously degrade the natural qualities of Huntington and potentially damage the viewshed from the National Historic District, the National Wild and Scenic Westfield River and the two State Scenic byways of Jacob’s Ladder Trail and Route 112 (all of which enumerate the viewshed as exceptional …as I have said many times, Huntington is in a National Historic District along a National Wild and Scenic River at the junction of two scenic byways; how many times do we have to define a place as special to protect it from cavalier visual or destructive assaults?”
Penn said he has already been approached by at least one town member who is “really upset over this insensitive construction by our neighbor.”
Penn said that he and other residents plan to contact the Massachusetts Historical Commission to see if proper procedures and approvals were sought, especially relating to the viewsheds of the Russell and Huntington National
Historic Districts.
“If this project goes forward, it will be a clear illustration that regional planning is critical as unintended damage to neighbors is real and many well-meaning projects can, in fact, damage the very place they intend to improve. We live in a paradise only some of us seem to recognize and care take,” Penn wrote.