Wind farm possible in county

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November 17, 2008

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL The Commercial-News Mon Nov 17, 2008, 11:13 PM CST

DANVILLE — Vermilion County is taking steps to prepare for the country’s changing energy market.

Preparations are ongoing for the potential set up of a wind farm near the southwest corner of the county and already three other companies have made offers in the northern part of the county.

To deal with this, county board executive committee members began discussions Monday night to set up an ordinance to regulate the siting of wind farms in the county.

District 7’s Bill Donahue offered a model ordinance at the meeting with several suggested changes to fit Vermilion County, which stands in the unique position of not having any zoning.

As part of the ordinance, Donahue suggested the county approach the wind farms from a building permit angle, setting up a Structural Safety Committee. The panel, which would act much like the county’s subdivision committee, would handle the technical side of looking into the potentials behind the locations of a wind farm.

Once issues are looked at, the committee would forward the wind farm location request to the full county board for a final vote. The forward would come with a recommendation either for or against the location.

The committee would consist of two at-large board members, the health department, the state’s attorney and the county engineer.

The model ordinance offered by Donahue also calls for approval of locations for staging or storage for the wind farm construction and a buffer of at least 1,000 feet between any buildings and the wind turbines.

County Board Chairman Jim McMahon stressed the ordinance was not intended to bump aside any standing township ordinances currently in effect.

Committee members voted unanimously to move the issue on to the Vermilion County Board for review. McMahon said given the short time frame between now and the county’s Dec. 1 board meeting, the issue would not be voted on by the full board until the Jan. 20 meeting.

The large time frame also serves to allow the public to voice any concerns or questions about the ordinance.

“Let’s air out this issue so we don’t overlook something,” Donahue said.

District 6’s Bob Fox contended the county should hold a public hearing on the issue for residents to attend. McMahon pointed out there is a county board meeting and executive meeting as well as the Jan. 20 board meeting — all of which are open to the public.

A separate public hearing would cost the county an additional $3,000.

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