Residential wind code gets planning panel okay

Proposed new rules governing the placement of wind generating power stations on residential property are now in the hands of county commissioners.

Whitman County’s planning commission finalized and unanimously passed the proposed ordinance after a public hearing Aug. 26 that generated little comment from the audience and no citizen opposition.

The planning commission has been working on the ordinance for the past year and a half.

Though the residential wind ordinance passed without controversy, the commercial wind ordinance has been appealed in Superior Court. The appeal challenges County Planner Alan Thomson’s determination that the ordinance adequately addressed environmental concerns.

A public hearing before the planning commission on the county’s proposed commercial wind ordinance is slated Sept. 16.

Durand Cox of Hay, a member of the planning commission, asked with tongue in cheek if they could throw the commercial ordinance into the passage of the residential ordinance at the conclusion of Wednesday’s hearing.

“You’re pushing your luck,” smiled Guy Williams of Pullman, chair of the planning commission.

The personal wind ordinance pertains to turbines mounted no more than 125 feet high that produce no more than 100 kilowatts of electricity.

At present, wind turbines can be placed without conditions, as long as they are mounted on towers that stand less than 40-feet high. There are also no restrictions on how far those towers must be placed from neighboring property.

Turbines that are determined to be inactive for 12 months, with no sign of repair, must be taken down under the new ordinance. County officials will make the call on removal.

Under the proposed new ordinance, landowners on lots between one half acre and 1.5 acres will be allowed to erect one 60-foot tall monopole tower that produces no more than five kilowatts.

On 1.5 to two acres of property, two 75-foot monopole turbines with a 10 kilowatt maximum output each would be allowed.

Property from two to five acres can have two 100-foot towers that put out 10 kilowatts maximum each. The structures can be posted as a monopole, kept up with guy wires or a lattice tower.

Properties over five acres can have turbines 125-feet tall with a 100 kilowatt max.

Towers on property of all sizes must be set back 1.2 times their height from neighboring structures and public roadways.

Towers on lots over two acres must be setback 10 feet from farm land, and 1.2 times their height from neighboring property lines.