At a May meeting the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors approved an 18-month moratorium on accepting applications for issuing permits for utility-scale wind energy conversion systems, solar energy and battery storage installations in rural portions of the county. The former Planning & Zoning Commission Administrator, John Robbins, suggested that one be put in place to give the P&Z and the county supervisors time to renew their comprehensive plan with renewable energy guidelines put into place.
“My opinion is, we could get it (the comprehensive plan) done in nine months or less,” County Supervisor Chris Watts said in comments about the meeting. “We’re taking a pause, making sure we have the right ordinances in place to have some kind of control in the county.”
Now, seven months later the county P&Z Commission has decided to take the first steps in the process of drafting an ordinance to deal with renewable energy instead of waiting for the final version of the county’s new comprehensive plan, which was anticipated to be approved by September, to be put into effect.
“Currently wind and solar don’t have a specific ordinance, it’s done as a special use, I think the consensus was, in general, to lean towards more codified rules and procedures for people to understand,” said Tom Meyer, County Administrative Officer.
Meyer said the P&Z Commission wants to review similar ordinances in counties abutting Cerro Gordo to use as a reference point for drafting their ordinance. The Commission also plans to hold five separate public meetings throughout the county to gather public comments.
Once the P&Z Commission has drafted a final version of the ordinance, the county Board of Supervisors must approve that recommendation.
The Commission encourages citizens to attend these public meetings to share their thoughts. The meetings are as follows:
•Tuesday, Jan. 16, from 6-8 p.m., at the Rockwell Community Center, 219 Main Street E, Rockwell
•Thursday, Feb. 1, from 6-8 p.m., at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse, 220 N. Washington Ave., Mason City
•Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 6-8 p.m., at the Thornton Community Center, 333 Main St., Thornton
•Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 6-8 p.m., at the Rock Falls Community Center, 3 Nottingham Drive, Rock Falls
•Thursday, Feb. 15, from 6-8 p.m., at the Ventura Community Center, 4 Weimer St., Ventura
by Mary Loden
At a May meeting the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors approved an 18-month moratorium on accepting applications for issuing permits for utility-scale wind energy conversion systems, solar energy and battery storage installations in rural portions of the county. The former Planning & Zoning Commission Administrator, John Robbins, suggested that one be put in place to give the P&Z and the county supervisors time to renew their comprehensive plan with renewable energy guidelines put into place.
“My opinion is, we could get it (the comprehensive plan) done in nine months or less,” County Supervisor Chris Watts said in comments about the meeting. “We’re taking a pause, making sure we have the right ordinances in place to have some kind of control in the county.”
Now, seven months later the county P&Z Commission has decided to take the first steps in the process of drafting an ordinance to deal with renewable energy instead of waiting for the final version of the county’s new comprehensive plan, which was anticipated to be approved by September, to be put into effect.
“Currently wind and solar don’t have a specific ordinance, it’s done as a special use, I think the consensus was, in general, to lean towards more codified rules and procedures for people to understand,” said Tom Meyer, County Administrative Officer.
Meyer said the P&Z Commission wants to review similar ordinances in counties abutting Cerro Gordo to use as a reference point for drafting their ordinance. The Commission also plans to hold five separate public meetings throughout the county to gather public comments.
Once the P&Z Com
