The Jefferson Township Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-1 Tuesday to make corrections to its original approval of Roger Brown's request for a conditional use permit to build a 197-foot-tall meteorological tower on property he owns along State Route 540. ...Zoning regulations allow conditional use permits for projects that can be classified as public service facilities ...but do not specifically mention turbines or meteorological towers.

The Jefferson Township Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-1 Tuesday to make corrections to its original approval of Roger Brown's request for a conditional use permit to build a 197-foot-tall meteorological tower on property he owns along State Route 540.

The vote was required after the original ruling last year was challenged in Logan County Common Pleas Court by several residents of the township.

Judge Mark S. O'Connor ruled in July that the board was correct in approving the request for a conditional use permit instead of a variance, but failed to identify that the tower was to be built in a zoning district that allowed public service utilities and that the tower constituted such a structure.

Zoning regulations allow conditional use permits for projects that can be classified as public service facilities, including various energy-generating structures, but do not specifically mention turbines or meteorological towers.

Casting the lone dissenting vote against the two corrections was Steve Mortimer who was absent from the original meeting Sept. 4 where the four members present approved the request unanimously.

"I feel that there's not good, just cause for a tower to be a public service facility," he explained after the meeting. "It's not for the interest of the public. It's for the interest of the wind turbine companies that collect data for their own personal gain."

Roger Brown said after the meeting that he is glad meteorological towers and turbines are beginning to be recognized as a service to the public.

Mr. Mortimer also voted against adjournment, stating that he believed the meeting "was not handled properly."

"It was listed in (the Examiner) as a public hearing, and this wasn't a public hearing," he said.

Those in attendance were asked to sign in if they wished to speak, but Chairman Tim Lyden later stated the board was only required to correct their error and no public comments were taken.

Logan County Prosecutor Gerald Heaton, who serves as the board's representation, was not present at the meeting but told the board via e-mail that "no additional evidence should be taken."

Mr. Brown will be required to remove the tower 18 months after it becomes operational. The data collected is intended to be used to show if the township is a suitable location for turbines.

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