A proposed ordinance that would allow Scarborough residents to erect windmills on residential lots is generating a little static.

Harry White of Running Hill Road takes issue with the rule of one windmill per residential lot. White wants to install several windmills to help generate electricity on his 13 acres.

“If you’re living out in a rural area and you have acreage, then why can you only have one?” he asks.

The Town Ordinance Committee will meet on May 26 to fine-tune the proposed ordinance, which allows windmills or small wind energy systems, or SWES, only to generate energy to the building or buildings located on the lot.

Town Council Chairman Michael Wood said Scarborough’s proposal, like Cape Elizabeth’s, restricts windmill height to 100 feet or less and requires a property-line setback of 110 percent of the turbine’s height.

The ordinance also states a windmill tower must be a monopole that is freestanding or guylined. The poles must be a neutral color and nonreflective. The noise from the windmill cannot exceed 55 decibels. (An air-conditioning unit makes about 50 decibels of noise from 50 meters away.)

White said the town is stepping on his rights if it adopts the ordinance as proposed.

“I haven’t officially gone through anything with the town because right now they don’t allow it and there’s no sense to go to the town and I know how these things work,” White said.

White installed a three-pronged, silver windmill tower on his property in 1985. Under the proposed ordinance, he said, he would be forced to remove the tower because it would violate the monopole and nonreflective requirements. He also said he had a problem with the decibel requirement, because wind at 35 mph generates about 65 decibels of noise.

“I hope that we can redo the ordinance to reflect reality a little bit more,” White said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to do that.”

Wood said he understands White’s argument, but the Town Council must consider every resident’s needs before adopting a windmill ordinance.

“The folks who are really interested in windmills appear to be angry with us,” Wood said. “We’re not trying to shove anything down anyone’s throats, but we’re trying to provide citizens with an opportunity that doesn’t exist today.”

Councilor Richard Sullivan said he first heard about the windmill issue from Ferry Road resident Scott Doherty.

Sullivan said Doherty was preparing to install a windmill in his back yard, but a neighbor brought concerns that the windmill was too close to other properties. The town ordered Doherty to stop work.

“This is really a ‘not in my backyard’ issue,” Sullivan said. “We need to make sure we adopt an ordinance that reflects the needs of everyone.”

The Town Council had a first reading on the issue on May 6. It will have the second reading at its first council meeting in June.

During the May 6 meeting, Jim Plagenhoef of 4 Cottage Lane said the town must be considerate in determining where windmills are allowed, especially in denser areas.

One of Doherty’s neighbors, William Roman, had attorney Rick Shinay speak for him. Shinay said Roman was also concerned about allowing windmills in densely populated areas.

“Allowing them in densely populated areas is not the thing to do,” Shinay said at the meeting.

Town Manager Tom Hall said the May 6 meeting demonstrated the need for Scarborough to develop an ordinance that is well thought out and balanced.

“The one sentiment we heard consistently was ‘please consider where it’s going to be,’ ” Hall said. “We all recognize that this is certainly the wave of the future. This ordinance as it is now is almost self-regulating, especially with the setbacks at 110 percent of the height of the windmill. Because of the proximity of abutters, this wouldn’t be allowed in a lot in the more densely populated town areas.”