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Schuylkill closer to curative amendment

Published January 09. 2020 12:15PM

The clock is ticking on the 180 days the county has to adopt a curative amendment to its zoning ordinance, and officials are doggedly developing the plan.

During a commissioners’ workshop meeting Wednesday, Porter Township resident Virginia Morton used the public comment period to praise the board on the work that’s been done to develop the amendment. As she has in previous meetings, Morton expressed her concerns about a wind turbine project in the area of Porter and Hegins townships.

In September, the county adopted a resolution declaring the existing ordinance “to be substantively invalid with respect to use of property” for business ventures such as wind turbines, natural gas compression stations and dispensing facilities for medicinal marijuana. The county’s ordinance was last revised in 2010. The ordinance was declared invalid Sept. 9; the county has 180 days from that date to develop a curative amendment. During the 180 days, no permits will be issued for such ventures.

During public comment, Morton suggested that required setbacks from a residence to a wind turbine be 5,000 feet. She also said that turbines should have a required distance from each other, which would be seven times the blade length. She asked that height limitations be no higher than 400 feet.

After the meeting, Morton said that she acknowledges that wind turbines now dot the landscape, with more than 650 currently erected in Pennsylvania. But, she said, establishing guidelines and limitations can help minimize impact and protect property rights.

“I am not a proponent of wind farms, heck no,” Morton said. “I wish they wouldn’t be here at all, not in this beautiful region.”

A company called Clean Air Generation has leased 12,672 acres owned by Rausch Creek LLC, lands which include acreage in Hegins and Porter townships.

Porter Township uses the county zoning ordinance; Hegins Township has its own. Morton said that the project could encompass four townships and include 75 to 100 wind turbines. In August, Hegins Township also adopted a resolution declaring its zoning ordinance “substantively invalid” and has 180 days to create a new ordinance.

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