A group of residents opposed to a potential wind farm in northern DeWitt County was again present before members of the DeWitt County Board, this time, before the Board as a whole.
At the Thursday night DeWitt County Board meeting, opposition to the Tradewind Energy proposition doubled down on requests for a change in ordinance. Chris Schaffer addressed the Board and brought concerns about the setback distance of the turbines from properties.
Shaffer cited noise concerns with the turbines near property lines and pointed to Livingston County, who has a setback distance of over 32-hundred feet and notes, there is the option of the landowner to waive the setback distance if they choose to do so.
Property value reductions is a fear of many homeowners near the wind farm. Shaffer wants to see a property value guarantee put in the ordinance for homeowners.
Shaffer also points to the expenses that come with decommissioning the turbines. She proposes having money put aside for when the turbines are no longer useful.
State's Attorney Dan Markwell pointed out, the DeWitt County Board does have the authority to "initiate the text amendment changes". The Board, led by Board Chair David Newberg, declined to take such action, and instead deferred to the Land Use Committee to consider the changes.
Tradewind Energy has yet to submit a formal proposal to the County for consideration. They hope to have a proposal ready for the spring and their plans include construction to begin in 2019 and have the wind farm complete by 2020.
