By KALEY LYON

klyon@dailynews.net

At Thursday's 5:30 p.m. Hays City Commission work session, commissioners will consider approving an ordinance regulating wind energy development.

The drafted zoning regulations have been submitted by the Hays Area Planning Commission, which has been working on the document since last April.

A current moratorium on wind energy development was established to give the planning commission time to develop the regulations. This moratorium is slated to expire April 1.

The proposed regulations require a conditional-use permit for all wind energy convergence systems within city limits.

Turbines in the 3-mile zoning radius surrounding Hays could not be taller than 125 feet. In residentially zoned areas, the towers could not be higher than 45 feet.

Setback requirements would be 1.1 times the total tower height, and the regulations prohibit any noise above 55 decibels, or 10 decibels greater than ambient noise levels.

Three planning commissioners -- Chairman Larry Gould, Paul Phillips and Lou Caplan -- have recused themselves from the process to prevent an appearance of conflicting interest.

All three are employed with Fort Hays State University, which hopes to construct several wind turbines on state-owned land to offset campus energy bills.

Other agenda items include:

* Payment to the Hays Senior Center to offset utility costs.

*  Request for proposals for 2009 city waterline upgrades.

* Bids for repair of the Eighth Street bridge over Montgomery Draw.