Pleasanton Township Planning Commission (November) - Web Update

Noise levels, property setbacks, tower height, and turbine blade speeds were discussed at the Thursday, November 4 meeting of the Pleasanton Township Planning Commission, but it was clear that much more discussion will take place before any final decisions are made.

The Planning Commission is in the early stages of establishing a zoning ordinance that would cover commercial wind turbine projects. During several meetings last month, the Commission began adapting an ordinance written and adopted by Lake Township in Huron County. Using that ordinance as a template, the Commission has been working its way through its dozens of pages, making changes to reflect the needs and preferences of Pleasanton Township.

The bulk of Thursday's meeting continued that work, with Zoning Administrator Rochelle Rollenhagen leading the Planning Commission through comments and questions on the document. On several issues, such as restrictions on noise generated by turbines, Rollenhagen pointed out the need for the Commission to gather more information. "We need to talk to the experts in these fields. None of us really know much about, for instance, how sound is measured. What's an appropriate decibel level? This [Lake Township] ordinance contains a lot of technical terminology. We might be able to write [ours] in a more readable fashion," she said, "but we'll have to understand it first."

Other issues that came up included deciding how to provide notice to property owners near a turbine project--and what standard to use for "near. "WES" (for "Wind Energy System") was selected as the standard term to use throughout the document to refer to wind turbine apparatus. Other issues included safety lighting and appropriate protective limits around the turbines. New Planning Commission member Bob Babcock said that a proposed setback of one and half miles from the shoreline of Bear Lake, Glovers Lake and Mud Lake would dramatically reduce the number of allowed turbines. "That reduces the number of towers to about 3," he said, and suggested a less restrictive setback.

There was also brief discussion about whether a wind turbine could affect property values, and how to protect owners if turbines caused a decrease in value. Language in the draft ordinance mentions multiple appraisals. Commission member Jeanne Crampton said that establishing cause and effect would be very difficult. "It could be the economy, it could be the neighbors, it could be the wind [turbine]."

Public comment lasted for about half an hour, and included reservations about tower height, and impact on bald eagles. There was also concern that the ordinance could be so restrictive, that it would effectively outlaw the turbines. In a response to a question about transmission lines, which would direct power to the electrical grid, Stafford said that underground lines would be used.

Rollenhagen stressed that the document is far from complete. "This is a draft, and a work in progress." She said that an updated draft would be posted on the township's website, made available at the township hall, and at the Keddie-Norconk Library in Bear Lake.

Thursday's meeting was rescheduled from Monday, Nov. 1, because of township election preparations for Tuesday. After speaking with a commission member, The Three Pines Gander reported that the meeting would begin at 6pm, instead of the normal start time of 7pm. The Gander has since confirmed that 6pm was selected as the start time when the commission last met in October. However, the official reschedule notice posted at the township hall indicated 7pm. The discrepancy has not been explained; most Commission members and few members of the public were aware of the change. Neither minutes or agenda from October's meeting nor any agenda for the November 4th meeting were available.

This was the last Planning Commission meeting for Jeanne Crampton, who announced her resignation effective on November 5, 2010 (the day after this meeting). Crampton, who celebrated her 80th birthday in May of this year, has served on the Planning Commission for over twenty years, in addition to her lifelong involvement in planning and environmental concerns in Michigan, Minnesota, and during the ten years her family lived in Florida. "I served on the Planning Commission there, too, for the city of Clearwater. Participating in local government in Florida after doing so in Minnesota was a real shock to my system," she laughs. "Not much 'government in the sunshine' down there in the Sunshine State, especially not in the early seventies." She cited her absence from the township for five months out of the year as her reason for leaving, but offered to help the Commission with research.

The Pleasanton Planning Commission is expected to have its next meeting on Monday, December 6 at 7pm.