SAN DIEGO - San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to streamline the process for meteorological equipment testing for wind energy turbines while directing county staff to return to the board with an analysis on developing a two-tiered ordinance, which separated domestic and commercial systems. On May 12 the supervisors established $350,000 of funding to prepare an Environmental Impact Report analyzing the impacts related to implementing a two-tiered system.

The allocation was part of a 5-0 vote to approve the county's third-quarter budget adjustments. Mid-year budget adjustments allow not only for the elimination of expenditures but also for the appropriation of one-time revenues such as grants, user fees, and insurance or legal settlements. Fund balances from previous years may also be appropriated during mid-year adjustments.

The $350,000 for the wind turbine EIR was derived from a 2007-08 general fund balance, while the $453 million net increase of appropriations was due primarily to the issuance of 2008 pension obligation bonds and appropriations of $443.5 million from the bond proceeds.

The proposed two-tiered ordinance for wind turbines would allow a turbine for agriculture, residential, or small business use by right with limitations to be established for such domestic systems while a commercial wind system would still require a Major Use Permit. Although the supervisors did not provide a threshold between domestic and commercial systems in their motion, county staff has proposed a threshold of 50 kilowatts.

The limitations for the smaller systems would cover height, setbacks, parcel size, and other zoning matters.