March 3, 2015
Michigan

Commission looks at wind turbine rules

By Jordan Beck - Staff Writer | Daily Press | March 3, 2015 | dailypress.net

ESCANABA – The Delta County Planning Commission continued to discuss the possibility of making wind turbine-related amendments to the county’s zoning ordinance in a meeting at the Delta County Courthouse Monday.

As was the case when the topic was discussed in February, the commission did not make any formal recommendations regarding the turbines at Monday’s meeting.

“We’re not going to make any decisions tonight,” Zoning and Building Administrator Dan Menacher said.

Instead, Menacher said the primary goal of these discussions was to determine which sections of the ordinance should be researched in greater detail by himself and the board’s members.

Setbacks were one of the most prominent topics of discussion at Monday’s meeting. Currently, the Delta County ordinance requires turbines to be built 1,320 feet from any dwellings. As this could allow setbacks to extend into other properties, potentially limiting the ability of other landowners to use their land as they choose, this policy has caused controversy in the past.

While the commission members present at the meeting agreed setbacks should be measured from property lines, they were torn between keeping the setbacks at 1,320 feet or increasing them.

Other topics discussed by the commission included sound pressure and noise, shadow flicker, and the visual impact of turbines.

Menacher said he felt this meeting had a positive impact on the commission’s ability to understand the issues surrounding the wind turbine ordinance.

“I’m getting more and more informed about (turbines),” Menacher said.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/03/03/commission-looks-at-wind-turbine-rules/