One thing has emerged clearly from public hearings on proposed wind turbine regulations in Baltimore County: Everybody likes environmental quality and alternative energy.

Otherwise, the views expressed on the subject at three hearings since the fall run the gamut, and Planning Board members now face the question of what to recommend the County Council do about small wind energy systems in a county where there's little wind to be had. The question is set to be voted on at the board's meeting today.

"The comments were probably as diverse and different as you can imagine," said board member Adam T. Sampson. "For every opinion there seemed to be a counter opinion. ... I suppose if everyone was of the same opinion that would make it easier."

Board member William H. Moore V said he felt there was substantial public support for allowing wind turbines outside residential areas, while the proposed rules do not allow that. He said rule-making is complicated by the fact that wind energy "is a moving target. The technical advances are moving as we speak."

Moore said he couldn't help but notice that "a lot of people love the idea of windmills, but they don't want one in their backyard."

The board is considering seven pages of proposed rules drafted by the planning board staff and amended by a subcommittee.

The proposal gives permission by right -- that is, without special permission from the county -- to install one wind turbine up to 60-feet tall per property, provided the property is at least one acre and in a residential area only. The energy generated would be only for the homeowner's use and could not be sold into an electricity grid.

Homeowners who want to install a wind energy system outside those restrictions would need the zoning commissioner's permission. No other limits on height or numbers of turbines are specified in the proposed rules.

The regulations specify that the turbine must be set back by a distance of its height plus 10 percent from property lines, roads or overhead utility lines. The rules set a noise limit of 55 decibels "for any period of time," with exception allowed for "short term events" such as a windstorm.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Web site, 55 decibels is somewhere between the sound of "moderate rainfall," and a dishwasher. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's site says 55 decibels outdoors "will permit spoken conversation and other activities such as sleeping, working and recreation."

Depending on whose arguments you hear, the proposed wind turbine rules are either too permissive or too restrictive. A group calling itself Team Smart, for "Support More Alternative Renewable Technology," says the county's rules are too lax. Their own proposal would allow turbines only by "special exception" granted by the zoning commissioner and would allow them only in commercial or agricultural zones.

A leader of the group, John Reistrup, who lives in Phoenix in northern Baltimore County, described himself in a hearing in the fall as "pro-green" and a "tree hugger." The group statement advocates "a comprehensive energy policy for Baltimore County that promotes conservation while maintaining environmental and neighborhood integrity."

Reistrup and his wife, Leslie, argue that wind turbines have been shown to degrade property values because they're noisy and they spoil scenic views. They say they moved to that part of the county for the quiet and the bucolic setting. Leslie Reistrup said in an interview that her group studied regulations elsewhere in Maryland and across the country and is pressing for rules that have been enacted elsewhere.

"We're not coming up with these in a vacuum," she said. "I hope the county will be open-minded." As a new group claiming an environmental consciousness, Team Smart is opposed in this argument by a more established name in conservation, the Sierra Club's Greater Baltimore Group.

The head of the local group, Chris Yoder, doesn't live in the county, but he said his organization has about 1,600 members who do. He said in an interview that he considers the proposed wind energy system rules too restrictive. Yoder, who spoke at the full board hearing this month, said he objects to the residential zone restriction, which he called "incomprehensible," and to the rule that would bar the homeowner from selling the power.

He also argued that wind turbine sound limits should be governed by existing noise regulations.

Because of land elevations, the county is not considered very promising territory for expansive wind power development, but Yoder said the rules here could be significant for their potential impact on other counties.

"The big concern is precedent," said Yoder, who lives in Baltimore City. "A restrictive ordinance can be cited as a precedent."