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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
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By Emily Hone BLACKFOOT — A special use permit for Ridgeline Energy’s Goshen Wind Power Project was approved on a four to three vote by the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday night.
 Morning News - Emily Hone
Wolverine rancher Peggy Bingham gives a congratulatory hug to Ridgeline Energy Vice President Rich Rayhill after the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 Wednesday night to grant a special use permit for the Goshen Wind Power Project in the Wolverine area.
Hortense Nelson of Rockford made the motion to approve the SUP for 150 wind turbines in a Natural Resources/Agriculture Zone in the Wolverine area, and Kent Banner of Blackfoot seconded it.
Commissioners Gaye Sorensen of Blackfoot and Larry Kohler of Shelley voted in favor. Commissioners Randy Turpin of Thomas, Charles Shackelford of Sterling and Paul Clark of Blackfoot voted against.
Opponents of the project have 10 days to appeal the zoning board’s decision to the county commissioners, and one group said following the vote they were discussing whether to do that.
The motion to approve includes the condition that a pre-development evaluation committee be formed to help with siting of the project, with the members to sign off on plans before a building permit is issued.
The public hearing on the special use permit for the project took place on three separate nights and the zoning commission had more than 10 hours of testimony and numerous exhibits to wade through and digest before Wednesday’s decision was made.
However, it took them less than an hour and a half and only one and a quarter round of discussion to arrive at a vote.
Those opposed to granting the SUP felt it would cause too much of a change in the appearance of the Wolverine area, which Clark said next to the Snake River is Bingham County’s greatest scenic attraction.
They said power generation is an industrial use and not allowed in an NR/A Zone.
A couple said the application had been improperly filed because Ridgeline is not the owner of the land, and that it will require subsidization by the taxpayers.
Turpin said the application was too vague and did not adequately indicate where the roads, turbines, substations and other structures will be located.
It was that vagueness that caused him to ask so many questions when Ridgeline Vice President Rich Rayhill made his presentation at the start of the public hearing, Turpin said. “Once it’s approved, it’s too late to ask questions.”
He said the commission has the duty to protect all of the landowners, not just those who will benefit from the project by leasing their land out for turbine sites, and to not approve a use that will be detrimental to the economic well-being of the county.
Shackelford said he was disturbed by the fact the first wind power project that is mainly in Bonneville County had been touted for the $700,000 in taxes it would bring Bingham County, but because of a change in the taxing structure actually brought in $75,000.
Shackelford said 81 miles of road will result in too much scarring of the mountainside.
Banner said the zoning board was basically making a decision between wind turbines and subdivision development. He said the latter would also bring roads as well as more people, and would also have a detrimental impact on wildlife.
Commission Chairman Merril Blake, who was spared from making a tie-breaking vote by the 4-3 decision, spoke against the project, saying it had been presented as a wind farm as though it were just another type of agriculture. He said the application doesn’t meet the requirements for a special use stated in the zoning ordinance
“I think wind energy is the best thing in the world,” Blake said, “but this is the wrong location.”
In support of the SUP, Nelson said the definition of an NRA Zone states that mining and logging are allowed as being development of natural resources, but also says uses are not limited to them. “I don’t know what wind is but a natural resource.”
She said Ridgeline Energy is committed to best management practices, and she believes the wind power project will leave a very small footprint and be less disturbing to the environment than other suggested uses for the land.
Banner said regarding a comment that the the State Legislature allowed Ridgeline to change the way its projects are taxed from property taxes to a percentage of its power sales, it was the correct thing to do because it will bring more money to the county in the long term.
He said also, the hydropower dams that were built required subsidization in the beginning.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 )
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