April 21, 2007
Ohio
Ohio
As controversy continues to swirl around proposals to erect wind turbines in the county, a committee was formed recently to review and draft zoning proposals to regulate them.
Officials from the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office and the Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission named a 10-member committee to determine what information should be included in any zoning regulations enacted by the townships in Logan County, Prosecutor Gerald Heaton said Thursday.
By state law, the prosecutor is the legal counsel for the townships, and currently, he said, there are no regulations in place concerning wind turbines.
“The whole purpose of this group is to get information,” the prosecutor said, “sufficient information so the townships can make an educated determination as to what they want to include in their zoning.”
Mr. Heaton said the zoning regulations the committee drafts are proposals the townships are not required to adopt.
“The goal is to attempt to have the zoning regulations consistent throughout the county,” Mr. Heaton said of his desire to assist the trustees. “This is to give suggestions to make the zoning consistent. That way, we won’t have 18 different requirements with regards to wind generators.”
The committee is not a statutory committee, he said, and it does not have authority to direct anything. Any amendments to zoning would be acted on by respective township boards of trustees.
Prosecutor Heaton said he and Jenny Snapp, director of the LUC, sat down three weeks ago and selected the people on the committee based upon what they knew about their position with regard to wind turbines and what information they could provide in determining regulations.
The group includes a representative of a wind power company for technical information on wind turbines, he said.
In addition to Mr. Heaton and Ms. Snapp, committee members include Scott Coleman, Logan County Engineer; Victor Klingelhofer of the Logan County Township Trustees Association; Tim Armentrout of Jefferson Township; Don Bradley of Monroe Township; Gary Downey of Rushcreek Township; Michael Speerschneider of Everpower Renewables; Doug Boots, who is in favor of the turbines; and Laura Lucas, who is against them.
The committee meets at 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, at the LUC building in East Liberty.
By Brian J. Evans
Bellefontaine Examiner Staff Writer
20 April 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/04/21/committee-appointed-to-design-local-wind-turbine-regulations/