April 8, 2007
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Windmills and manure pits were among the subjects discussed at Thursday, April 5, at the Brussels Town Board meeting.
Town Clerk and Zoning Administrator JoAnn Neinas told the board that two farmers are interested in erecting eight to ten wind turbine electric generators near Rosiere. The proposal focuses on an area not far from where similar generators are located in the Kewaunee County town of Red River.
The turbines would sit atop 248 feet towers with turbine blades extending another 84 feet in the air, according to the information Neinas has received so far.
An application for a conditional use permit to allow the wind turbines has been sent to the interested people, Neinas said, but no responses have been returned to her office.
The town has an ordinance patterned after a Door County Zoning Ordinance, requiring the permit, Neinas said. However, “there’s not a lot of other parameters to look at,” she added.
The ordinance was adopted without specifying some details for wind turbines, such as setbacks from property lines and roads. County officials are updating the county rules to comply with state laws on wind generation and renewable energy. Work on the county ordinance could be finished as early as June, Neinas said.
“Until we have an ordinance with setbacks, can’t we just enact a moratorium on wind turbines?” Supervisor Galen DeJardin asked.
Neinas said she wasn’t sure.
Town Chairman George Delveaux, Jr., ordered the matter tabled until more information is available for the May town board meeting. Neinas was instructed to put a hold on any applications she received before that meeting.
In other business, the town board adopted a livestock-siting ordinance identical to one passed last fall by the Union Town Board. The ordinance follows state law on matters including setbacks for manure containment facilities and other phases of a large dairy or other livestock operation. The state requirements are stricter than the current town laws, Delveaux said.
The ordinance developed by the Wisconsin Towns Association “should be adopted by every town in the state,” said Supervisor Joe Wautier.
While there are no current 700-plus animal farms in the town, at least one is located as close to Brussels as across Door County Highway X, that forms a large portion of the border between Door and Kewaunee counties.
By Peter J. Devlin
Advocate correspondent
7 April 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/04/08/brussels-board-tables-wind-turbine-request/