For the second time in recent months, the Jefferson Township Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a request to build a meteorological tower to measure wind data.

The four members present at Tuesday's meeting voted unanimously to allow Roger Brown to install a 197-foot-tall lattice tower on the property he owns along State Route 540. Mr. Brown has a lease with the wind development company Babcock & Brown that wants to install an approximately 150 megawatt wind farm in Jefferson and Monroe townships.

Previously, the board voted to approve a request by Rick Amerine to build a similar tower. That case is being appealed by residents who oppose wind turbine development in the township.

In the first decision, the board granted Mr. Amerine a variance with little discussion or findings as to why it should be allowed.

Tuesday evening, however, they granted a conditional use permit and agreed with Mr. Brown's attorneys from the Columbus law firm Vorys, Slater and Pease that variances are not needed to build above the 35-foot maximum for buildings so long as the structure does not qualify as a building used to house people, animals or property.

In justifying the conditional use, they said the project could be classified as a public service facility that includes various energy-generating structures but does not specifically mention wind turbines or meteorological towers. The data, they said, will be beneficial to the public in determining if Jefferson Township is, in fact, a suitable location for a wind farm. It also must be removed 18 months after it becomes operational.

The board members officially stated if a court decides to overturn their ruling on the lack of need for a variance, they believe Mr. Brown would qualify for a variance because township zoning laws present a hardship in collecting scientific data from the wind above his land.

The decision was not popular among the 15 residents who turned out to voice their opinions against the proposal to the board.

"I've got issues with the fact that this is the precursor to wind turbines coming," said Jim Bettinger, who lives along County Road 2. "It is imposing an undue burden on the community. We're going to get stuck decommissioning those even if it is 15 to 20 years down the road."

Joe and Linda Hughes, who live just east of the Brown property, filed the appeal in the Amerine decision, but Mrs. Hughes declined to say if they were planning to appeal the Brown decision.

In their comments to the board, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes drew out fine points that could be potential legal stumbling blocks if the case moves into the courts. Those items included a potentially improper physical address on the permit, the inclusion of the legal description and whether board member Tom Elliott, who is Mr. Brown's brother-in-law, should be allowed to vote.

Mr. Elliott, acting on the advice of Logan County Prosecutor Gerald Heaton, voted in favor of the request but stands to make no financial gain from the wind turbines Mr. Brown is advocating.

Board chairman Tim Lyden said regardless of the Tuesday decision, the board likely will be looking at court action.

"This is a no-win situation," he said before the vote. "Whatever we do, we are going to be challenged on it."

The wind development opponents were also upset that Mr. Lyden had prepared a list of items to discuss if the board approved the request. While he said he had prepared a similar list if the board voted down the request, he did not have it with him at the meeting.