Franklin County Supervisors brainstorm wind farm ordinance

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors laid out the groundwork for a new ordinance regulating the development of wind farms during their regular meeting on Monday, February 14.

Spurred on by concerns from area residents over the planned development of a new wind farm northwest of Sheffield, the supervisors have been discussing the matter with interested parties about what sort of regulations should be specified in a new ordinance.

Over the course of the Monday discussion session, the supervisors went over various issues such as the length of time that building permits and conditional use permits would be valid, limits on sound and light pollution, and specifics on setbacks from various properties and property lines. Other issues such as requirements for decommissioning plans and limits on how long construction equipment or decommissioned parts can be kept in the county were also discussed.

Though the supervisors discussed specific metrics for some of the proposed regulations, such as a minimum setback of 1,600 feet or three times the maximum height of the tower from a residential structure, it was emphasized that the proposed regulations were in the very early stages and that the supervisors were simply laying out a baseline from which to work from.

"Let's get our basics together and see what it looks like," said Supervisor Gary McVicker.

Franklin County Zoning Administrator Dan Tilkes was present at the meeting to work with the supervisors on the outline and will return with a draft ordinance based on their suggestions at a later meeting. Once the supervisors have seen the draft, they will plan for a public informational meeting to allow the community to weigh in with their thoughts.