Union commission recommends turbine regulation

The Town of Union Plan Commission unanimously approved a recommendation for an ordinance regulating wind turbines Thursday.

The recommendation will go the town board, which will host a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Eager Free Public Library, 39 W. Main St., Evansville.

Plan commission member Doug Zweizig expects the board to take action on the ordinance after the hearing.

The ordinance prohibits construction of turbines within a half mile of occupied structures, Zweizig said. The setback may be reduced to 1,000 feet with permission from property owners or neighbors, he said.

The ordinance also includes strict sound-control regulations and requires testing for sound after construction of a turbine, Zweizig said.

The town and its residents put a lot of work into reworking the state’s model ordinance, Zweizig said.

“This small township has worked for over a year because the model provided by the state was hopelessly inadequate,” Zweizig said. “It was a huge expenditure of time and money for a small township because the state failed to do it.”

By Gina Duwe

Janesville Gazette

NOTE FROM THE BPRC RESEARCH NERD: As soon as the final version of the ordinance is available we will post it for download. In the mean time, if you can't wait and would like to see a draft copy of the ordinance, contact us by clicking here and we'll email you a PDF copy.

HATS OFF TO THE UNION TOWNSHIP P&Z COMMISSION AND THE LARGE WIND TURBINE STUDY COMMITTEE.