While most of the updates to the county master plan were put on hold at Tuesday's Plan Commission meeting, one section on towers was approved to include resolutions on wind turbines.

County Planner Mitch Bishop said the intent was to provide protection for county residents.

Other portions of the master plan were tabled so commission members could think more about proposed ordinances.

Bishop said there has been speculation from developers wanting to construct large wind turbines in the county and there were no ordinances regarding them. He said a Kansas-based firm is expected to appear at an upcoming Board of Zoning Appeals meeting about putting in a meteorological tower. The tower would study winds in the area to see if a wind farm would be effective in La Porte County.

The plan adopted regarding wind turbines includes a decommission plan that would require developers to post a bond that will be held in case a developer puts in towers and then abandons them if the farm proves ineffective. Bishop said it requires the developer to deconstruct the towers in order to receive their bond money.

There are also requirements for turbines to be set back 200 feet from any primary residence and at least a third of a mile from an incorporated city's limits. There are also noise and vibration limits.

Tony Hendricks of Charles Hendricks & Associates in La Porte said he's spoken to engineers and surveyors in the county and has presented several ideas for the ordinance changes. He said the turbine ordinance was good, but said there was nothing in it regarding small, personal turbines that could be used at people's homes.

Hendricks said there is a General Electric unit for about $5,000 that would generate about 30 amps of energy in typical wind in La Porte County.

"We were just concerned that small turbines would still be allowable in residential zoning," he said.