A plan that officials hailed as a welcome and needed alternative-energy project is among the many issues slated to be heard Tuesday by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

Two appeals filed against the approval of the Lompoc wind energy project are on the board's agenda, but the project applicant requested Friday that they be postponed.

The supervisors received the letters from Acciona Energy asking for a 60-day continuance, because it would provide more time to work with the appellants - Lompoc area residents George and Cheryl Bedford and the California Department of Fish and Game.

As it stands, the project approved in September was for a maximum of 65 wind turbines that reach nearly 400 feet high on the windy ridges southwest of Lompoc.

There would also be various operations facilities and a PG&E power line running from the project to Lompoc.

The Bedfords claim in their appeal that the wind turbines would be noisy, an eyesore and a danger to nearby residents like themselves.

The state Department of Fish and Game was more concerned with bird and bat deaths that are common to wind turbines.

The leased agricultural land is bordered on the south and west by Vandenberg Air Force Base property, and on the north and east by privately owned agricultural property.

The maximum number of wind turbine generators would create an estimated 285 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year, equivalent to the electrical usage of 40,000 to 50,000 households.

It would be the first wind energy project in Santa Barbara County if the appeals are settled between the parties or the Board of Supervisors denies the appeals and the project is allowed to move forward as permitted.

In a separate matter, Orcutt area groups have expressed opposition to a county plan that would rezone two properties in the largely residential community to make way for 370 housing units.

The rezone program is state-mandated with a fast-approaching deadline, but residents are concerned about the proposed change to Key Site 16, a commercially-zoned property situated at the western end of Old Town.

Both rezones would require a change to the locally designed Orcutt Community Plan, which mapped out how residents wanted their town to grow and evolve.

The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. in the hearing room at the Betteravia Government Center at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway in Santa Maria.

The public can address the board in person or by using the remote audio and video equipment at the county Administration Building at 105 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara and more information is available at countyofsb.org.