A large gathering of people packed the courtroom inside the Grant County Courthouse in Milbank today (Tuesday) to hear the latest issues involving the future of wind energy development within the county.
The special meeting was organized by the Grant County Board of Commissioners with the intent of possibly taking action on two separate issues relating to future wind energy development on a county-wide scale.
After a lengthy discussion, the commission approved a motion directing the Grant County Planning and Zoning Board to review and, if necessary, revise the county land use ordinance as it relates to wind energy systems. The commission also discussed the need for imposing a moratorium restricting the number of applications submitted for future wind farm development. After receiving input from Mark Reedstrom, States Attorney for Grant County and Todd Kays, Executive Director for the First District Association of Local Governments on how to proceed with the issue, it was determined that the idea of imposing a moratorium would not be an advisable alternative for dealing with future wind energy development from a county-wide perspective.
At today’s (Tuesday’s) meeting, there was an opportunity for the public to openly express why they were either in favor of or against the current wind energy system guidelines which are currently in place in Grant County. Milbank resident Leonard Stengel was among those who indicated he was very much in favor of bringing new wind energy development opportunities to Grant County…
After the meeting, KMSD Radio spoke with Kelly Owen, an area livestock producer speaking on behalf of a select group of individuals, who noted a few concerns with the current setback requirements which are in place for installing wind turbines for new wind energy farms…
The current county land use ordinance establishes a setback of 1,000 feet from non-participating landowner properties, and 500 feet from cities and municipalities. The Grant County Planning and Zoning Board has been directed by the County Board of Commissioners to further study the current setback requirements to determine if future changes should be made.
