The Reno County Commission in a couple of weeks will likely consider issuing a moratorium on the development of wind farms in Reno County, Commissioner Dan Deming advised. “I think it will be granted,” Deming said of a proposed moratorium. “The question is its length.”
The commission previously agreed more regulation needs to be in place to protect the entire county during wind development and tasked the Reno County Planning Commission with drafting proposed regulations.
Less than half of the county is currently zoned, so existing zoning regulations can only control development in those parts of the county.
A consultant helping the planning commission draft a new comprehensive plan suggested both the creation of the overlay zone and a moratorium while the county drafts the new rules.
While agreeing to the idea of a countywide “zoning overlay,” officials have been reluctant to impose a moratorium on development because of the progress already made on what will be the first commercial wind project in the county, the Pretty Prairie Wind Farm being developed by NextEra Energy in the southeast quadrant of the county.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)