January 3, 2020
Indiana

Mt. Vernon council votes down adopting zoning ordinance amendments

Mt. Vernon council votes to not adopt zoning ordinance | By Jared Goffinet and Evan Gorman | WFIE | January 2, 2020 | www.14news.com

Mount Vernon city leaders have made their decision on how to move forward on wind and solar project regulations.

Common council members say they need more time before adopting the ordinance.

In its third reading, the vote was unanimous, 5-0, to reject it.

No Mount Vernon council member was in favor of putting proposed regulations into law without revisions.

In November, the planning commission approved new amendments to the county’s existing zoning ordinance.

Copies have gone out to towns who use the area plan as a governing body for their consideration.

“I’m glad it went this way,” explains Mount Vernon Council Member Andy Hoehn. “It needs to go back to area plan. They need to fix it.”

Hoehn, who is the only returning council member, is primarily concerned about the impacts on the National Weather Service doppler radar in Owensville.

“There have been at least one situation where a tornado was hidden by a wind farm and doppler couldn’t read it for a period, I believe, 10 minutes,” Hoehn recalls.

An addition concern for Hoehn is property values.

“Currently, there’s a line in it that allows a 20-year guarantee on property values,” says Hoehn. “I don’t see that as anything that is workable. I don’t know how to guarantee 20 years of property values for any reason at any location. it doesn’t make sense. It’s a lawsuit looking for a place to happen.”

The council plans to make changes to the places they see problems. Those will be sent back to the area plan commission.

The ordinance has been adopted in Poseyville.

But in Cynthiana, town leaders decided to table it. It will be back on the agenda on January 8.

Once the Area Plan Commission gets those changes, they will have 45 days to review it. It will be brought back either changed, unchanged or partially changed.

The adoption process will then start all over again.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/01/03/mt-vernon-council-votes-down-adopting-zoning-ordinance-amendments/