LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Douglas County board denies Osakis wind tower request for second time 

Credit:  By: Crystal Dey, Alexandria Echo Press | October 29, 2012 | www.echopress.com ~~

A conditional use permit request for a wind tower in Osakis ping-ponged between the planning commission and the county board before finally being denied last week.

The little wind turbine tower that could, according to the Douglas County planning advisory commission, found out it really can’t, at least not in Osakis Township at the corner of Hope Road and Calvary Road Southeast.

Property owner Barbara Trisco applied for a conditional use permit to erect a 39.9 kilowatt wind tower for agricultural power generation on property that is zoned rural residential.

The request was approved by the planning commission with eight conditions, but was denied in a three-to-two vote by Douglas County commissioners on October 23. Commissioners Norm Salto, Bev Bales and Paul C. Anderson voted to deny the application, stating that the location of the tower was not in the best interest of the community.

All five commissioners made a point to clarify that they are supportive of wind energy despite the controversy over this particular tower.

The application was originally approved on August 15 by the planning commission and brought before the county board on August 28. Since new information had been discovered between the two meetings, commissioners sent the application back to the planning advisory for review. It was again approved by the planning advisory commission in September before being defeated in October by the county.

A number of Trisco’s neighbors attended the October 23 commissioners’ meeting to voice concerns about the tower being too close to their residences. Some were also in attendance who supported Trisco. Reasons of opposition included safety and whether property values would go down if the tower goes up.

“What concerns me more than anything is the safety aspect of it,” said Calvary Road resident Tom McLaughlin. He said that since the county doesn’t have a wind tower ordinance, the regulations being used are intended for cell towers, which do not have moving parts.

“The first 25, 30-mile an hour wind in January, is a blade going to come off and go through my roof?” McLaughlin asked.

Hope Road resident and Osakis City Clerk Angela Jacobson stated that the decision to put the tower where three-phase power is available is pure economics, which is not the county’s concern.

“[Trisco] should have gotten approval for this before he got a tower,” Jacobson reasoned. “We strongly oppose.”

Douglas County Land and Resource Management Director Dave Rush advised the board to act on the current application and consider another application for a different location if Trisco decides to pursue that route.

Commissioners heeded Rush’s advice and voted on the application at hand, which was denied.

Source:  By: Crystal Dey, Alexandria Echo Press | October 29, 2012 | www.echopress.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon