County commissioners worry about state's proposed zoning bills
Published on -2/3/2009, 11:58 AM
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By GAYLE WEBER
Two Kansas House of Representative bills being heard in the committee on energy and utilities have sparked opposition by local government officials.
House bills 2043 and 2051, dealing with the regulation of wind and solar energy, would allow developers to build renewable energy plants without regard for already-established local zoning regulations.
"If we have zoning, and the city has zoning, then the local people ought to be able, through their representation, to decide what they want," Ellis County Commission Chairman Perry Henman said.
County commissioners expressed their opposition to the proposals Monday and will be writing letters to committee members as well as local representation to express their opinions.
Any regulations prohibiting the construction of wind or solar energy plants near residential or public buildings would be void, according to sections 18 and 19 of the bills.
"The problem with those is ... the practical effect would be that anyone claiming to construct wind near publicly owned buildings would be immune from regulations," Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty said.
Dougherty said the bills were written loosely and could have serious consequences for any public entity that already has zoning regulations in place.
"It would not make anything that has to do with wind energy applicable with our zoning regulations," Dougherty said.
He said the proposed Fort Hays State University wind project could fall into this category.
Henman said he had placed calls during the weekend to Rep. Dan Johnson, R-Hays, and Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, as well as to the Kansas Association of Counties to express his opposition to the bills.
"The KAC has no position on wind towers, but they do have a position on home rule and they would be very much against (the bills)," Henman said.
Henman said if the state took away the county's ability to regulate renewable energy plants via zoning regulations, it could start an unwanted trend.
A sub-committee on renewable issues conducted a hearing Friday on the bills and could hear about them again today and Thursday.
Dougherty said the city of Hays usually doesn't get excited about all the bills presented in the Legislature, especially at the beginning of a session.
"In this case, it isn't strictly our zoning regulations, it's the county's too," he said.
