Don’t bend rules for developers
Letters | Lincoln Journal Star | January 3, 2021 | journalstar.com
There has been a lot of hard work done by a lot of good people in setting regulations for wind energy in Lancaster County. While other less populated counties are increasing their setbacks, Lancaster County commissioners are asking for fewer restrictions on wind energy.
Less than two years ago, the Health Department and the Planning Department both agreed that a one-mile setback was both appropriate and safe for wind energy. At that time, the majority of the commissioners went against those recommendations and asked for a “balance” of five turbine heights instead of the one mile.
Before voting that time the commissioners asked the wind developer if this new balance would allow them to develop wind energy in Lancaster County, and the wind developer agreed that it would.
Now that there’s not been any applications for special permits for wind energy, the commissioners are asking the Health Department and Planning Department to review the regulations again.
Is this the way that Lancaster County sets regulations? Making the regulations fit the developer rather than the developer fit the regulations? There might not be any special permit applied for yet, but as of right now there is a wind company actively signing contracts in Lancaster County.
There’s no need to relax our wind regulations just to make them fit the wind companies now or ever!
Larry Allder, Cortland
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/01/03/dont-bend-rules-for-developers/