McPherson County denies wind project regulation change request

In the end, nothing changed, despite pleas from many county residents to implement stricter setback regulations on commercial wind energy turbines. It began with a zoning amendment request by Jason Wright to make changes in the county’s current Commercial Wind Energy Project regulations, which were originally written when the maximum height on wind turbines was 250 feet. The P&Z board eliminated that height restriction in 2017, but did not adjust its setback requirements. Wright’s request in February was delayed until the P&Z board’s May meeting to allow time for members to research and consider the request.

A robust variety of viewpoints were expressed by those who chose to speak during the public input session, ranging from expletive laden rants to emotional pleas to end the painful split in the community. Public input lasted for nearly two hours after the size of the crowd forced the P&Z board to relocate the meeting twice to larger venues and delay the start time by 45 minutes.