Sumner County Planning Commission look at re-wording its zoning regulations after judge’s ruling against Argoyle Wind Farm Project
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The word “and” is a conjunction that ties a lot of clauses and nouns together. But rarely does that single word cause a significant change like disallowing the construction of the Argyle Wind Project in northwest Sumner County.
Add another chapter to the strange, winding road that is the northwest wind farm proposal in the rural area between Conway Springs, Clearwater and Wellington.
The Sumner County Planning Commission will meet next Wednesday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Raymond Frye Complex to rework its zoning regulations specifically “conditional use” permits. Currently, according to county zoning by-laws written in 1977, a conditional use permit can only be granted if it approved by both the planning commission “and” the governing body, i.e. county commissioners.
The proposed re-wording will knock out the word “and” thus turning the planning commission into an advisory board, which will only make recommendations to the county commissioners who will then have the ultimate say (see Legal Publication here).
The issue came to a head in September 2017 when Sumner County District Judge William Mott ruled in favor of 42 plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the Sumner County Commissioners, which approved a Conditional Use Permit for Invenergy wanting to build a 60-65 unit wind farm on 10,000 acres of land stretching east of Conway Springs and north of Wellington. Turbines were to be placed as far north as 130th Ave. and as far south of 60th Ave.; as far east as Ridge Road and as far west as Anson Road.
Essentially, the ruling halted any kind of development of wind turbines that were estimated to generate 150 megawatts of electricity originally to be completed at the end of 2018. Mott’s ruling is currently being appealed in state court.
Sumner County Planning Commission Director Jon Bristor said next Wednesday’s proposal will not be about the wind farm specifically but will redefine the planning commission – specifically addressing making it an “advisory” board instead of an “authority” board.
“This will be about housecleaning,” Bristor said. “For years we have always felt that the planning commission works in an advisory capacity to the county commissioners. It wasn’t until this ruling that we were told otherwise.”
The wind farm project, the third of its kind in Sumner County, has generated resistance from neighbors in the area who fear their property values will plunge with the existence of these wind mills.
The proposal was originally voted down by the county’s Planning Commission. However, on Dec. 27, 2016, the county commissioners voted 2-1 to overturn the recommendation with commissioners Cliff Bales and Jim Newell voting for the wind farms and Steve Warner voting against.
Then on January of 2017, 42 plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the commissioners which Mott overturned the commissioners stating:
“If the regulations of one provision are more restrictive and impose higher standards or requirements than a similar one, then that provision shall govern.”
Bristor maintains that the ruling had nothing to do with Mott’s personal feelings of wind farms, but interpreting the by-laws by how they were written. Thus, there is need for rewording, he said.
Ramifications
While the re-wording will not address the Argyle Wind Project directly, if approved it could pave the way for another round of Invenergy’s attempt to place a wind farm in northwest Sumner County. There is little doubt that the planning commission will vote against another wind farm proposal a second time around just as it is likely the county commissioners will again overturn it a second time.
Jerry Hawkins, attorney for the Sumner County property owners, said new wording of the bylaws is unneeded. He stated in a press release sent to Sumner Newscow:
“People may not think about the importance of zoning until it affects them. Conditional use permits are not just for wind farms, they are required for things like wrecking, salvage or junk yards, recycling centers, airports, land used for raising and care of dangerous animals, feed manufacturers, livestock sale barns, fertilizer plants, electrical substations, cemeteries, nursing homes, and radio towers, to name a few… The Sumner County Commission is proposing to change the Regulations so that a majority of the three Commissioners can approve a conditional use permit regardless of what the nine members of the Planning Commission recommend.”
Hawkins went on to say:
“That’s exactly what happened to all of the landowners I represent in northern Sumner County, Invenergy, a wind developer, wanted to build a 60-65 turbine commercial wind farm next to or around these landowners’ properties. These landowners had serious concerns about how these large commercial wind towers were going to affect their property values, and their use and enjoyment of their land. Once a wind farm is built close to or around your home, what do you think happens to the marketability of your home and the equity you have accumulated?”
Hawkins said that the Sumner County regulations as written means the Planning Commission is part of the checks and balances and it should remain that way.
Bristor said, however, that is not how it should work, though. He said planning commissions were set up to be advisory boards across the state of Kansas and across the country for that matter. He said the question that a planning commission can even be an authority board is something the courts must decide. He said when the law was written the planning consultant at the time said the word “and” was not supposed to be interpreted in a way that made the planning commission an authority board.
