Humboldt County regulates turbines
New rules govern height, location
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HUMBOLDT -- Humboldt County officials have passed a new ordinance regarding wind turbines, as they sought to strike a balance on where any future turbines could be placed on private land.
Bruce Reimers, chairman of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, said the details on county rules governing turbines have been worked out over the last year or so. Reimers said Humboldt County residents have strong opinions on the potential arrival of wind turbines.
"We are trying to appease the people who want them and those who don't. There are a lot of pros and cons...We are trying to straddle the fence," he said.
Reimers said he would hear almost daily from people about the turbine deliberations wherever he went, whether that was church, in stores and elsewhere.
The details were worked out as the ordinance was finalized after several board meetings in July. The county planning and zoning commission was utilized to weigh proposals.
Reimers and David Hundertmark, a member of the commission, both said the Humboldt wind turbine ordinance drew heavily from the rules of other Iowa counties.
Hundtermark said the maximum height of any turbines that can be added is 675 feet.
There are a variety of setback distances the wind structures must be away from differing things, such as two miles from rivers and parks, or 2,000 feet from a neighbor's property line.
Under the Humboldt ordinance, a person who wants to have a turbine on their land could proceed, if neighbors sign off to agree with that.
The county will not build or place turbines on properties - that would be worked out by energy firms and individual landowners, who would get rental payments. The RWE Group is investigating placing turbines in the eastern part of the county, Reimers said.
RWE Group, baked in Austin, Texas, touts the benefits of renewable energy. Reimers said people who have gotten turbine rental payments in other counties enjoy that revenue stream.
He said every county on all sides of Humboldt County has turbines. He can see them from his home across the county line with Kossuth County.
"They are all over. I see them all day, every day," said Reimers..
He described being able to hear the sounds of turbines from a half-mile away, and noted some detractors also cite disliking shadows being cast onto adjacent properties. Reimers said the people who have spoken against wind turbines don’t want to lose a quaint rural lifestyle.
At one county meeting in the last month, a lot of people spoke about the ordinance, including Tim Renaud and Christie Rodgers of the RWE Group, plus area residents Chad Small, Tom Stillman, Dyle Erickson, Kendra Walton, Kris Stillman, and Matt Dornbier.
Reimers said the number of people who spoke in the recent Humboldt County meetings who said they want turbines on their land was a small number.