Pulaski County won’t be taking any formal action on wind turbines until the end of May. County officials have been researching the topic, so they can make some recommendations about how to adjust the county’s Unified Development Ordinance going forward.
Wind turbines were once again on the Pulaski County Commissioners’ agenda Monday, but board president Kenny Becker said the advisory plan commission has to act first. “We cannot do anything until the planning commission does anything,” he explained, “so I mean, it’s at a standstill right now.”
The plan commission had planned to hold a special meeting at the end of this month to discuss the proposed updates. But in a Facebook post Thursday, county officials said they’ve learned that wind energy developer RES doesn’t plan to apply for building permits until 2019.
Because of that, county officials have decided to save the cost of holding a special meeting, and wait until the plan commission’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 29. It’s scheduled to take place at 7:00 p.m. EDT at the Winamac Municipal Utilities Complex, but that may change if large crowds are expected.
Meanwhile, a separate process is underway to better regulate wind turbines in Francesville’s zoning jurisdiction. The town council is expected to consider an ordinance later this month that would establish a Francesville Plan Commission, which would be able to explore possible zoning ordinance changes.
Of the 34 wind turbines RES hopes to build in Pulaski County, nearly half would be in Francesville’s jurisdiction, rather than the county’s.
