By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post
PRINCEVILLE – Wind-energy turbines probably won’t be permitted within 1½ miles of Princeville in the foreseeable future.
An ordinance the Village Board approved Dec. 17 allows local government to regulate wind farms proposed in areas where the municipality has zoning jurisdiction. That authority extends 1½ miles beyond village limits.
The ordinance prohibits wind farms in Princeville or in that buffer area unless village approval has been obtained. It doesn’t appear such approval will be forthcoming anytime soon, should any wind-project developers ask for it.
“Unofficially, in a personal-opinion context, the majority if not all of the board is against them,” Village President Jeff Troutman said after the board meeting. “But the village itself has never formally stated in a meeting that the Village Board will not allow that.”
The meeting attracted about 10 members of the public. Most of them were affiliated with a grassroots group opposed to two wind-energy projects proposed for northern and western Peoria County. Members of No To Peoria County Windmills distributed hats emblazoned with the group’s logo.
Village Trustee Ron Delbridge wore one of those hats during the meeting. He has said he’s opposed to the proposed wind farms, which might include turbines 700 feet tall.
The board vote regarding the ordinance was unanimous. It also received unanimous support from the village zoning board, Troutman said. A Rockford-based attorney for the no-windmills organization drafted the ordinance, according to group spokesman Dan Heinz of Kickapoo.
“It’s a great thing,” Heinz said. “It protects the people that live right on the edge or in the town, because these are nearly 700-foot-tall structures that you’ll see forever, and it’s going to limit growth. Anything that these villages can do to protect that is a great thing.”
The ordinance is identical to one the Brimfield Village Board approved, according to Heinz. He said other Peoria County municipalities are considering approval, but he declined to name them.
Among other things, the ordinance requires towers to be set back at least 5,000 feet from primary structures on land where the owner is participating in the wind-energy project. The setback is 2 miles from non-participant structures and from school property lines.
The only zoning district in which wind projects are allowed is agricultural, and only if allowed as a special use. That would require public hearings and a Village Board vote. The ordinance does not apply to decorative windmills.
According to Troutman, none of the turbines among the wind-farm proposals is within village zoning jurisdiction. The closest potential towers are about 3 miles to the southwest.
Peoria County officials are expected to consider wind-farm plans sometime in 2025. Troutman said he’s informed County Board members about trustees’ opposition.
In other business, the board approved the 2023-24 annual village financial report and the annual audit report. The board also authorized an ordinance change that states a village building inspector can be appointed only on an as-needed basis.
The village does not have a full-time building inspector, although the ordinance allowed for one, according to Troutman. He said solar-energy companies that have been installing panels at local residences asked for clarity about whether an inspection was required.
“We don’t have a requirement,” Troutman said. “We don’t have anybody qualified to inspect. … If it hadn’t been questioned so much, we probably never would have even acted on it.”
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