Mark Vonachen News Today

At least half of the property owners with nearby land objected to the development, but preliminary plans were approved on a 4-2 commission vote.

The commission wants to open the appointment process for a half dozen county boards to more applicants.

The County Commission did not vote, however, on the permit application that sparked the petition.

Board also supported a new overlay zone for the rest of the county that would require permits for commercial wind development

There didn’t appear to be a lot of agreement Tuesday evening as the Reno County Commission took a first look at proposed wind energy regulations forwarded to it by the county’s planning board – starting with how to proceed in reviewing them. County Commission Chairman Ron Hirst proposed that the board walk through the 14-page document a paragraph at a time and discuss proposed changes – of which he offered several. Commissioner Ron Sellers indicated he wanted to familiarize himself with...

The Reno County Planning Commission voted 5-1 Thursday to forward to the Reno County Commission proposed new commercial wind regulations that were little changed from last months draft. Planning Commissioner Ken Seltzer made one last attempt to require a larger setback for turbines from structures, roads and property lines of non-participating landowners, but his motion failed 2-4. The board approved only two minor changes before agreeing to move the document on. County planner Mark Vonachen su...