Petition to Protect Rural Property Rights Addressed to Winnebago County Board of Supervisors

We, Norway township and surrounding area residents, collectively oppose the permitting and construction of wind turbines within 1 mile of our residential properties. Current setbacks allow turbines to be placed no closer than 1,600 ft of city limits and 1,600 ft from a residence. This is woefully inadequate for not only rural residents, but also community residents.           

Wind turbines are being proposed in Worth and Winnebago counties by developer Invenergy. Prospecting of farmland for turbines and easement activity is nearly complete as of August 2020. In Winnebago County the area of development is Norway Township, north of Lake Mills. In the near future it is expected that the developer will apply for permit to build turbines in our township. This petition is directed to our county board of supervisors. We seek additional regulations to protect the rural property rights for those who live within and around the area.

Wind Turbines Have Negative Impacts on Human and Animal Health and Property Values

Across the world, the United States, and Iowa, wind turbines are being placed near homes largely without consent or consideration for the health, safety, welfare, and well-being of the residential property owners and their families. Citizens are experiencing a high degree of sound and shadow flicker annoyance, sleep disruption, health problems, property value decline, and loss of radio, TV, satellite and other signals. Many families across this country, and even locally, have left their homes due to the negative effects of wind turbines on their family’s sleep, health, and peace [1].

The World Health Organization has recently declared wind turbine noise as a health hazard, and the wind industry has denied and ignored evidence directly linking wind turbines and sleep disturbance to negative human and animal impacts worldwide. Madison County, Iowa placed a moratorium on wind turbine development because of testimony from their board of health and cardiologist Ben Johnson who, based on his research, believes wind turbines to be a possible cause of heart rhythm disorders associated with sleep disturbance. Other Iowa counties are doing the same. 

All across this state picturesque landscapes and the peace and quietness of rural living is being destroyed. Our landscape as we know it would be drastically changed by the proposed 600-foot-tall turbines, which is just 30 feet shorter than the tallest building in Des Moines. Numerous reputable studies across the US have demonstrated that industrial wind turbines reduce residential property values. McCann Appraisals provides a very detailed report [2] as well as Stephen Gibbons with the London School of Economics [3]. The visual environmental impacts alone explain an estimated 12% loss in property value for homes within 1.25 miles of large wind turbine facilities. A risk of decline in property value and a diminished interest of new families establishing in our township is not acceptable.   

In Iowa, it is the jurisdiction of the county to set zoning ordinance and approve wind energy developments. It is our responsibility as residents to voice our concerns to the supervisors who have the responsibility to exercise any power and perform any function it deems appropriate to protect and preserve the rights, privileges, and property of the county or of its residents, and to preserve and improve the peace, safety, health, welfare, comfort, and convenience of its residents.

By signing this petition, you are:

1.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors to place a moratorium on future development of wind turbines until updates to a zoning ordinance or a special exception permit are in place.

2.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors and zoning board to revise current setbacks for wind turbines to a safe distance of 1 mile from non-participating property owners and 1,600 feet from participating property owners. At distances of 1 miles or greater sleep disturbance of most individuals is minimized and usually eliminated at distances of 2 miles or greater [4]. We recommend an allowance or waiver for developers to negotiate an easement with a reduced setback with property owners on an individual basis to place turbines at a closer distance following a private agreement between the property owner and the developer.

3.      Asking the Winnebago County Supervisors for setbacks to start from non-participating owner’s property lines and not the residential structure. This allows the property owner full use of their property without setback area overlapping and preventing development on their own property and allowing them safe occupancy.

4.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors to regulate the nighttime and daytime decibel limits to acceptable levels which do not disturb sleep and prevent indoor and outdoor annoyance.  Researchers found that the percentage of people annoyed and highly annoyed by wind turbine noise increases at a rapid rate, with increasing A-weighted sound pressure level, after 35 dBA is exceeded, therefore 35 dBA should be considered a limit [4][5].

5.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors to require radar activated night lighting to control the light pollution of the red flashing lights in our night skies. 

6.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors to regulate shadow flicker on residential homes to zero allowance. 

7.      Asking the Winnebago County supervisors to follow Iowa DNR guidelines and place turbines no closer than 1 mile as an absolute minimum from lakes, wetlands, river valleys, public wildlife areas, forests, large grasslands, and parks [6]. 

Citations:

[1] Krogh, C. , McMurtry, R. , Johnson, W. , Dumbrille, A. , Alves-Pereira, M. , Punch, J. , Hughes, D. , Rogers, L. , Rand, R. , James, R. , Ambrose, S. and Gillis, L. (2020) Wind Turbines: Why Some Families Living in Proximity to Wind Energy Facilities Contemplate Vacating Their Homes: An Overview of Findings. Open Access Library Journal, 7, 1-17. doi: Click here to view article

[2] Michael. S. McCann. McCann Appraisal, LLC. Written testimony regarding setbacks and property values. Click here to view article

[3] Gibbons, Stephen (2015) Gone with the wind: valuing the visual impacts of wind turbines through house prices. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 72. pp. 177-196. ISSN 0095-0696 Click here to view article

[4] G. W. Kamperman, R. James, Guidelines for Selecting Wind Turbine Sites. Sound and Vibration. 2009. Click here to view article

[5] J.L. Davy, K. Burgemeister, D. Hillman. Wind turbine sound limits: Current status and recommendations based on mitigating noise annoyance. Applied Acoustics, 140 (2018) pp. 288-295 Click here to view article

[6] Iowa DNR. Wind energy and wildlife resources management in Iowa: Avoiding potential conflicts Click here to view article