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Voting no were zoning board of appeals members Melvin Coulter and Sally Clark. Coulter had moved to table action to allow a person who read excerpts from a prepared statement time to provide copies of the statement to all zoning board members. That person was Dean Wright, who said he owns property in Fulton County and works for Meister Electric, which appears to be based in Macomb. Coulter's motion was never seconded.
Wright said setback requirements addressed safety concerns, so additional regulations about safety seemed unnecessary and confusing at best. He added there was a big difference between rural and urban settings, but proposed siting requirements of at least one acre of property for a windmill seemed arbitrary. If the intent was to have a "fall zone," no restrictions other than setbacks were needed, he said.
Adopting other safety requirements and empowering a safety inspector to shut an operation down could expose the county to lawsuits and liability, and the county has failed to define the dangers, Wright said.
He also said the county board prematurely passed a fee schedule for towers prior to adopting rules on windmills or wind energy conversion systems (WECS). The fees seemed exceptionally high, arbitrary and unreasonable, he said. Wright pointed out well permit fees are not based on how many feet deep a well is to be; height-related fees for towers cannot be defended for the same reason, he said.
The fee schedule for small WECS is $5 per vertical foot of tower height; fees for large WECS, cellular telephone towers and utilities governed by height are $12 per vertical foot of tower height. A small windmill is defined as up to 170 feet in height, measured from the ground to the tip of turbine blade. A large windmill exceeds 170 feet in height.
George Hall, a county board member and chairman of an ad hoc Zoning Committee which has been working on proposed requirements for windmills for eight months, said if Wright's logic were followed about safety, safety belts and air bags never would have been made for vehicles. He noted National Electric Codes on grounding and other safety standards have been considered in the committee's study of the issues.
Fulton County Administrator Mark Lynch, who also serves on the committee, said at least five acres originally was proposed as a siting requirement for windmills. He said he recommended it be reduced to at least one acre to accommodate smaller lots. There always will be some minimum limit, and any number chosen will be arbitrary, Lynch said. He added one acre was reasonable, like speed limits on highways, in his opinion. Rules can be amended.
"There has to be a starting point," Lynch said.
He added the fee schedule was not set for financial gain but as a way to protect the taxpayers in a fair and equitable manner. It ensures funding is provided if steps must be taken to address damage.
Hall said unless very specific changes were recommended to the proposed regulations, the zoning board should not wait any longer to vote on them and send the measure on to the Fulton County Board.
The zoning board of appeals also voted to amend the county zoning ordinance to increase minimum height requirements for any kind of structure to 45 feet from 35 feet in areas zoned for agriculture and conservation. The zoning board of appeals would be empowered to vary height requirements as well if the county board approves such amendments. State and federal law supersede county law where applicable.
The board granted a variance or exception under the old, existing rules on height for a windmill to be built on farm property owned by Bud and Alice Grieves about two miles south of Banner atop a hill on Brown Road.
Hall asked Bud Grieves if he felt the process of getting the variance for a windmill was difficult.
Grieves said no, not particularly. He had commented at another point during the hearing if the county had a zoning ordinance on windmills that is more user-friendly than other counties, numerous persons will be interested in building windmills in Fulton County.
Lynch noted noise can pose a concern if it is not addressed properly. Noise for both small and large wind-energy systems is proposed to be limited to 60 decibels, measured from the boundary lines of property where such systems are located. This also would comply with minimum noise requirements set by the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
Melinda Anderson of Canton, whose family owns a 219-acre farm near Smithfield, discussed plans to erect a small wind turbine on that family farm at 16867 N. Chamber Road, Smithfield. She said she has been researching wind energy systems for 2 1/2 to three years and hopes to encourage more people to "go green."
Anderson said there are no power lines near the proposed site for her windmill. It will have manual "off" safety switches. No one is opposed to it, she said.
"At this time, it is being constructed off grid. It will be the first Spoon River (Electric) Cooperative has done," she said. "It will require only minor adjustments to hook up to the grid."
Illinois Wind Power of Pittsfield will erect the windmill. The firm has put up windmills in Springfield and many other locations in Illinois, she said. The farm will have a backup generator, she added.
The windmill will be for the use of a home at the farm only. If all goes well, she may pursue another, larger windmill for other power at the farm. Grants are available for that, she said. Anderson also said 700 to 2,500 windmills are projected to be erected in Illinois this year.
"Fulton County has enough wind power to sustain the rest of Illinois," she said. "We fall basically into a very high wind channel."
Hall said the windmill design for her farm did not indicate a stamp from a professional engineer.
Anderson said a Canadian firm designed it.
Hall said he did not know if Canadian engineers "have reciprocity with the United States." The P.E. stamp requirement exists for safety and liability reasons, he explained.
Anderson said she was still learning about requirements and had questions about vibrations and other aspects. She said she wanted to work with the electric co-op and wants it to approve of the firm who puts up the windmill. She said she began calling neighbors about her plans after learning about Grieves' project.
Anderson asked if she should send letters to all her neighbors and return to next month's meeting of the zoning board of appeals.
The county administrator said all persons who own property within 500 feet of her property lines must be notified.
Lynch also explained later that in the past, the law required utilities to purchase excess energy from privately owned energy systems like windmills. The law was changed to allow owners of private systems to "bank" their energy with utilities. Excess energy could be stored and used in less windy months. If more energy was needed than provided over the course of a year, it could be purchased from the utility, but if excess energy was produced over a year, the extra energy was kept by the utility at no cost to it.
The law is different for commercially owned energy systems. Such energy is purchased by utilities in those cases, Lynch noted.
In other business, the zoning board of appeals rejected a request from Leroy Yoder of rural Lewistown to rezone farm property for business purposes to erect a shed for a sawmill operation. A sawmill has been running for about two years on the property. There have been complaints about road damage from trucks, however.
County Engineer Bill Kuhn said County Highway 14 and a township road called Turner Road were not designed for 80,000-pound loads. If a private road were built, that would avoid damage to the infrastructure, he said.
Ivan Brown of the Bernadotte Highway Commission said trucks would back into the business, unload logs and then twist around to get back under way, tearing up the road. The township has spent thousands of dollars making repairs, only to find more damage occurring after advising the business about the problem.
Kuhn said allowing the business to operate under a conditional use permit would give county control if such road problems continue. Instead of rezoning the property, other avenues can be pursued to allow the sawmill business to continue if it is run properly and in cooperation with the county. The burden of proof is on the applicant, he said.
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