January 18, 2008
Ohio
Ohio
UNION TWP. – Wind energy development zoning regulations now are official for the township.
Union Twp. Trustees met Thursday night to decide whether to accept either of two proposed zoning amendments – one from the township zoning commission and the other from Union Neighbors United – township residents concerned about wind development zoning issues.
Trustees Jim Virts and Howard Peters approved the zoning commission amendment and rejected the Union Neighbors proposal. Trustee Douglas Hurst recused himself from the meeting to avoid a possible conflict of interest. He is on the board of directors for Pioneer Rural Electric, which could have an interest in wind energy development.
“We respect the opposition, and if the state comes up with better and clearer regulations, we’ll take those,” Peters said.
The accepted regulations include:
• A wind turbine must be at least 1,000 feet from a primary structure.
• Turbines must be set back at least 1.2 times the height of the tower from an adjacent property line or road right-of ways.
• A turbine cannot be more than 500 feet tall.
The rejected proposal’s regulations included a minimum 2,600-foot setback from adjoining property and primary structures, a minimum setback of four times the height of the turbine from road right-of-ways, a maximum height at 300 feet and specified regulations on vibrations, shadow and noise levels.
About 50 people attended the meeting, and nine chose to voice opinions before the vote.
By Natalie Morales
Staff Writer
17 January 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/01/18/wind-zoning-okd-in-union/