The subcommittee of the Stutsman County Zoning and Planning Commission has completed its work on a proposed zoning ordinance concerning commercial wind farms in the county. Now the debate moves on to the full zoning and planning commission ..."The two big items for the full board to make a decision on are the fees and the setbacks," said Noel Johnson, Stutsman County chief operating officer and a zoning administrator.

The subcommittee of the Stutsman County Zoning and Planning Commission has completed its work on a proposed zoning ordinance concerning commercial wind farms in the county.

Now the debate moves on to the full zoning and planning commission, which will hold its first hearing on the topic at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the commission chambers of the Stutsman County Courthouse.

"The two big items for the full board to make a decision on are the fees and the setbacks," said Noel Johnson, Stutsman County chief operating officer and a zoning administrator. "We'll get the full board together to take testimony just like a legislative hearing."

The current draft of the wind farm zoning ordinance includes fees of $1,000 per turbine with a cap of $25,000 per project. Johnson said those fees are to cover administrative costs, meeting costs and any engineering work that needs to be done as part of approving the project.

The setback provision requires that wind turbines be placed no closer than five rotor diameters to the property of anyone who has not signed a waiver allowing the turbine.

A rotor diameter is defined as the distance across the circle made by the blades of the turbine. For the largest turbines currently being used, five RDs could be as much as 1,800 feet. This issue has been the most contentious among the wind farm industry representatives who have attended the sub-committee meetings.

"It is very difficult to get waivers from every individual around the project," said Ted Weisman, representative for NextEra Energy, formerly known as Florida Power and Light.

Weisman, along with other wind energy representatives, were asked to submit suggested revisions to the ordinance for consideration by the planning and zoning commission.

Johnson said he anticipates the planning and zoning commission to hold a number of hearings on the topic before approving a final version of the ordinance. That final version will then be reviewed and voted upon by the Stutsman County Commission.

The first hearing on Tuesday will be limited to two hours with the regular Stutsman County Commission meeting set to begin at 4 p.m. Copies of the proposed ordinance are available at the courthouse.

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