The Henry County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday morning for a work session. The only item discussed was the Alternate Energy Overlay District. Supervisor White voiced his frustration with the discussion over this topic not being tabled last week when he was out of town. He also asked multiple questions regarding the history of the alternate energy overlay district, such as the date that wind energy was first discussed in the county.
After watching a video of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s public hearing from September 17th, he believes that the board was “steered” by the director, Joe Buffington. This further prompted his question on why the board of supervisor’s meetings are not recorded for public use. White continued in his reservations of wind turbines, stating that we do not know the long-term effects of wind farm of this capacity. He believes the board owes it to the public not to rush this through.
One of White’s proposed changes focuses on setback measurements. “I believe that any setback measurements should be from the closest portion of a wind energy structure or equipment, regardless of what it is, to the property line of adjacent property owners.” White continues, “this would take into account the turbine blade offset from its foundation for example. This measurement would be a minimum of 3,960 ft. (3/4 mile)” During the meeting, he elaborated on this. If someone has a pond on the edge of their property, they may like to relax there. Since it is not technically a structure, the current ordinance means a turbine could be towering above. A full list of Supervisor White’s ordinance suggestions can be read here.
For the remainder of the meeting, board chair Greg Moeller read sections of the ordinance, often stopping to discuss further. The supervisors discussed multiple portions, such as the setback length, how far the turbines need to be buried after decommissioning, and signal interference to name a few.
More discussion will be had in the coming weeks. The supervisors will set a date for another work session at this Thursday’s regular meeting. Marc Lindeen, longtime supervisor, believes that they accomplished a lot at the meeting on Tuesday, and that they continue to move forward on this issue.