When it comes to wind, county councillors should make a quick decision – or maybe not.
That is what councillors heard on Jan. 31 when they considered the planning committee minutes.
That committee recommended the director of planning prepare an amendment to the county official plan to add policies on wind energy for consideration by the committee and council.
Councillor Mike Broomhead urged council to proceed with good speed. “It’s important to push ahead,” he said, adding that companies wanting to build wind turbines can simply take the county to the Ontario Municipal Board if council does not act quickly enough. Broomhead said that means the county and the township will have to pay legal fees at the hearing.
He said of the proponents, “These guys are going to come champing at the bit come spring to get these towers up.”
He asked if the amendment can be ready by March.
Engineer Gord Ough said that will be up to the committee and to council.
Broomhead asked that the committee and staff “place a high priority on it.”
But planning committee chairman Walter Trachsel said the committee has held off its decision while waiting for the results of a hearing from Kincardine.
“Some are not as simple as it looks,” Trachsel said of the proposals for private power generation. “We want to make sure it’s a proper policy for the county.”
Broomhead replied, “I’m saying the building season is the building season.”
Councillor John Green said his entire Mapleton council (which has also had proposals for towers, and actually has one running), attended an entire day of that Kincardine hearing in Kinloss, and he said those councillors will share information with Wellington County.
Councillor Bob Wilson said he would “caution against moving too quickly,” on the policy. “People in the county will have to look at them for the next 40 years,” he said.
Wilson also cited the York Soaring Club’s letter of concern. It stated some concerns “over proposals to develop wind power generation farms in the immediate area surrounding our active airfield.”
Peter Foster, of Caledon East, writing on behalf of that club, located near Arthur, said its officials have been led to believe there are as many as five separate companies who have expressed some sort of interest to the local planning office with two in particular (TransCanada and Florida Power and Light) having mature and large scale plans for the area.
“These significant operations are being actively pursued at a time that there is an apparent void in municipal policy as to the location of wind turbines in the vicinity of aerodromes or airports.”
Foster said in his letter the large turbines could chase members away from the club because their sheer size can be intimidating.
He asked for a 5km distance for the turbines from such airports and aerodromes.
Wilson told council that the York Soaring Club has been operating since 1956, and its property has been used for such things as emergency landings.
Wilson said while its situation might be unique, “It’s reasonable to make sure places like that are very well protected.”
He also added that if anyone is unfamiliar with the huge turbines, “You can see about 50 outside of Shelburne.”
