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Planning and Zoning Commission rejects Board of Supervisor suggestions
Following a public hearing Tuesday night, the Henry County Planning and Zoning Commission discussed adopting a proposed ordinance submitted by an anti-wind commercial energy group
MT. PLEASANT — Over 100 Henry County residents filed into the third-floor Henry County courtroom Tuesday night for a public hearing held by the county’s planning and zoning commission concerning proposed amendments to the county’s alternative energy ordinances.
After hearing from the public at the meeting and through correspondence since the moratorium initiated in April, the Henry County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously decided to reject the proposed ordinance changes presented by the Henry County Board of Supervisors.
Planning and zoning commission member Jim Nichting told the room full of people that he initially supported the changes to the ordinance that would make it possible for a wind farm development back in January.
“I have learned a lot since that point in time,” Nichting said. “I am no longer in favor. So my motion is [to] take out title six, chapter 211, two through six.”
While Nichting initially suggested simply adopting a proposed ordinance submitted by the Henry County Watchmen LLC to then pass along to the Board of Supervisors, Planning and Zoning Director Joe Buffington and Assistant County Attorney Steven Giebelhausen suggested they wait and put the document out for the public to review first. This document proposes taking out title 6-2-11-2 section 2-6 and creating separate stand-alone ordinances for those.
“I was told that we cannot just say no,” Nichting said. “I don't know why. I was never giving a good reason why we just can't say as a county we don’t want RWE in here. There is nothing stopping any individual landowner from going out, buying his own turbine and putting it on his ground. He can buy one 800 foot tall with 300 foot blades on it, and we can't stop, but that's his not a commercial one.”
The commission expressed support of plans to make this document from the Henry County Watchmen LLC available on the Henry County website in the coming days and meet next Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. for a work session in the Henry County Courthouse third-floor courtroom to discuss the ordinance further. There is no guarantee public comment will be allowed at this meeting, though the public may attend.
Throughout the duration of the more than two-hour meeting, residents and representatives of the alternative energy company RWE spoke both for and against adopting an ordinance which would allow for RWE or other similar companies to build a wind energy farm in the county.
Melanie Patton, a member of the Henry County Watchmen living near Trenton, started the public comments.
“Today we are here representing a large group of concerned Henry County citizens,” Patton said. “We live here, work, here, play here. We own businesses. We farm the fertile ground. We make up the fabric of Mt. Pleasant surrounding communities and the productive farmlands that our county is known for. We raise our children here. We watch our grandchildren grow as generation after generation of our families have called Henry County home. We attend church, we participate in volunteer work, we attend school events, and we support our quiet Midwest lifestyle. We are Henry County.”
Handing each commission member a thick manila envelope filled with information supporting her comments, Patton implored them to “investigate, formulate and enact an ordinance that offers adequate protections for all residents and landowners present and future.”
One specific request Patton highlighted included a setback of one and half miles. Joe Mitchell, however, stated that a setback further than one-third of a mile from an occupied structure would shut down the possible RWE wind farm project. His comments then focused on the importance of allowing landowners to do as they wish with their land.
“That means they deny their rights as landowners,” Mitchell said. “They may be the minority of landowners in the county, but they still have rights. Benjamin Franklin said if you’re willing to give up safety for liberty, then you deserve neither and I agree with that.”
Meanwhile Winfield resident Lynn Humphreys told the commission “Not one person's well-being should be sacrificed, nor should they be caused to suffer relocating so a corporation to make money.”
Winfield resident Jeff Olson spoke in favor of RWE as a company and a landowner that has signed an agreement.
“When the opportunity first came along, we did our research,” Olson said. “We hired a law firm to review the documents. We visited another a number of their locations. Went inside turbine, listened to it from several different distances, saw the control room and talked to the employees. One employee said he drove an hour to work through two of the wind farms owned by other companies to work for RW. He said the way they take care of both their employees and the landowners was an important consideration to him, because employees are usually the ones that have caught the middle but RDB treats their people with respect.”
Olson also stated that he felt wind energy was simply part of the changing landscape of an evolving society.
Other concerns brought up by those against wind energy in the county revolved around health impacts, air travel, and wildlife impact, though both sides cited articles in support of their positions. For every statement against making wind energy development possible with the ordinance, someone else offered up a comment in favor of making it possible.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
