Weather tower hearing continued
A Butler company wants to erect a meteorological tower on property in Springfield Township to determine if the site has enough wind to warrant building an electricity-generating wind farm. The Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday agreed to continue until April 20 a hearing into a request by Freedom Wind Energy LLC for a special zoning exception to put up the tower.
Freedom’s project manager, Philip Herbert, asked for the continuance after board members and an attorney representing Seven Springs Mountain Resort questioned the agreement Herbert said Freedom had with the landowner, Dave Widmer.
When Herbert presented what he said was a lease agreement with Widmer, attorney Charles C. Gentile, who represented the resort, said the document was an option to purchase property, not a lease agreement. Gentile said the resort objected to granting the special exception.
Herbert said Widmer signed the special exception request and the purchase option document. He said Freedom has a lease agreement with Widmer, and the document gives Freedom the option to buy the land. Widmer did not attend the hearing.
Zoning board Chairman Mark Morrison said the copy of the purchase option form that Herbert presented was signed by Widmer, but not by Freedom.
Herbert said the original copy he sent to the county was signed by Freedom.
He requested the continuance after board member Dennis J. Nurkiewicz said he had a number of questions about the request and that the burden of proof in the hearing falls on Freedom.
Herbert appeared without an attorney.
Before the lease was questioned, a project engineer said Freedom wants to erect a 167-foot tall, 8-inch diameter steel tube. It would not have a concrete foundation. Instead, 24 guide wires would support it.
It would have a number of instruments that would measure wind speed and collect other wind-related data. The information would be transmitted to a data logger at the base of the tower, and a worker would download the data monthly.
The tower would be a temporary structure used for 12 to 18 months.
Herbert said the data would be studied to determine if conditions were suitable for a planned wind farm.
The site is located about 1,000 feet east of the intersection of Brown and John Henry roads. It is zoned agricultural-rural (A-1).
Board member Leon Evans pointed out that the county zoning ordinance requires weather tower owners to notify all airport and medical helicopter services about the location of the tower.
Freedom’s engineer said towers 200 feet or taller require lights to make them visible to airplanes.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a special exception for Michael F. and Beverly A. Novotny of Brier Hill to open a granite kitchen countertop manufacturing business on property zoned general business (B-1) on Market Street in Brownsville owned by Charles H. and Joanne McMaster of Green Street, Brownsville.