Last night the DeWitt County Board and more than 100 patrons gathered at the County Building for a special board meeting to vote on the language for text amendments surrounding the wind farm project by Tradewind Energy.

 

After more than three hours of public comments addressing the board, the board voted on six different motions.  The public wearing bright yellow shirts saying "vote yes" wanted the board to approve the text amendment changes revolving a minimum setback of 1,640 feet from the property line, zero shadow flicker, and the installation of lighting mitigation.  All three of these text amendment changes were recommended to the board by the Regional Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

 

The board voted no on two of those three motions.  They voted 10-1 not to approve a 1,640-foot setback distance from the property lines of a non-participating resident.  Many residents and concerned members of the community disagreed with this decision, while Tradewind's Dr. Brandon Storm said a setback like this would've been devastating.

 

 

 

County resident Patricia Klem was one of many to share why they wanted these text amendments to be changed.

 

 

 

The installation of a lighting mitigation system was approved by the board. A third amendment, language to ensure there would be zero shadow flicker at a non-participating residence also failed, on a 9-2 vote.

 

Tradewind has said they expect to present their plans to the County Board in the coming months.