Lake County nixes big wind facilities

Lake County Board members aren’t against wind power to produce energy, but they don’t want to see massive turbines dotting the landscape.

The board on Tuesday overwhelmingly nixed a proposed change to the county’s development ordinance that would have allowed so-called large wind energy facilities of up to 400 feet in height.

Provisions for small wind facilities, now pegged at up to 175 feet but expected to be increased to 200 feet, will be considered separately by the board on March 15.

Several reasons were cited but it appeared as if many of the dissenters in the 17-5 vote against the large wind facilities simply wanted to keep the remaining open spaces of Lake County uncluttered.

“They’re beautiful. They’re majestic. They’re awesome. They’re also gargantuan,” board member Steve Carlson, who represents the Gurnee area, said of some turbines.

“I don’t believe they belong in Lake County.”

Impacts on property values and wildlife were among several concerns mentioned by board members and the public.

“This is about us protecting our residents, being good neighbors,” said board member Aaron Lawlor of Vernon Hills.

Dissenters also noted that data regarding impacts on animals and humans is still emerging. And because of the many restrictions that had been included in the proposal, the effect would be to severely limit or ban the siting of large turbines in any case, they added.

“One large wind farm in Lake County is not going to solve the energy crisis but it will cause a lot of upheaval in Lake County,” said board member Diana O’Kelly, representing the Mundelein area.

Some citizens of Newport Township asked the board to consider how they would feel with the large turbines in their backyards.

Board member Linda Pederson, representing the Antioch area, said large wind facilities would only be able to be sited in a few of the 23 county board districts.

“We’re really no longer the rural Lake County we used to be and that is a large factor here,” she said.

Pederson said Wisconsin officials were reconsidering setback standards for large turbines, for example.

“Is this what we need to be done here in Lake County?”

In support of the measure, board member Pat Carey of Grayslake said large facilities would be a subject to special review, not allowed by right. Is there a place for them in Lake County?, she asked rhetorically.

“I don’t know that but I don’t want to shut the door completely,” she said.

Tuesday’s action was the culmination of nearly two years of research, discussion, modifications and public hearings. The county had been the lead agency of a wind energy task force that included about two dozen municipalities.

“I thought it would be close — it wasn’t,” David Husemoller, a senior planner for the county, who led the effort, said of the vote.

There had been no formal applications for large facilities, although Sexton Energy LLC was considering a plan to site as many as ten large turbines in an unincorporated area west of the Tri-State Tollway near the Wisconsin border.

“We are evaluating our options,” Todd Daniels, director of operations for the company, said Tuesday after the vote.

The action affects only large wind facilities proposed for unincorporated areas.

“The villages are working independently and passing their own ordinances at their own pace,” Husemoller said. “I haven’t heard of any village wishing to include large facilities in their boundaries.”