And it starts the process of amending county zoning to address wind projects
A resolution that asks the Henderson City-County Planning Commission to start the process of amending the county zoning ordinance to address regulations for wind energy conversion systems was approved Tuesday at the regular meeting of Henderson County Fiscal Court.
The court met before a crowded meeting room that included many citizens with questions and concerns about the potential for wind turbines locating within the county.
Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold explained that the resolution ultimately approved has multiple parts.
In addition to setting in motion the process for creating a zoning amendment, the fiscal court placed a one-year moratorium on accepting or issuing permits to wind energy projects by any Henderson County governmental body, including the fiscal court, the planning commission and Henderson County Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Gold said the one-year timeframe is in reality a starting point because it could very well take the planning commission longer to complete its due diligence on a complex issue that hasn’t been explored previously.
The work will require generating findings-of-fact, collecting expert testimony on a number of topics associated with wind energy and giving citizens the opportunity to share their questions, comments and concerns during public hearings.
So, the one-year moratorium on permits is not a firm timeframe if more work is needed to complete the required steps, formulate an amended ordinance and finish the public hearings phase.
“The planning commission can extend the moratorium at any time,” the county attorney said.
Before the resolution was presented, a citizen representative asked for different action.
“We, the citizens of Henderson County, are requesting a complete prohibition to wind and all green energy projects from this day forward,” said Shannon Hill, who had asked to be included on the agenda to make a presentation and speak for her fellow citizens. She then yielded the floor to their local attorney, Dane Shields.
Shields asked the court to consider a “Plan B,” a two-year moratorium (rather than the one-year), suggesting that it would take at least that long to gather information on environmental impacts, property values, health concerns, safety concerns, what happens when such a project reaches the end of its life, as well as other matters.
“Have you gone to communities that have allowed these projects and gotten their input objectively? Have you talked to the communities that have said ‘no thanks’ and what is their reasoning for that?” Shields said in tossing out some things that need to be considered.
“I’m asking for a consideration of this court of a two-year moratorium so due diligence can occur through planning and zoning, and through members of this commission,” he added.
County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider said all of the questions and concerns raised were legitimate ones but added that the proper next step is to send it to the planning commission to do its work.
He promised “robust public hearings” during that process. “Everyone will have a chance to express their opinions,” he said.
Citizens were also given an opportunity to speak during the “Good of the County” agenda item at the end of the meeting. Several took advantage of that opportunity, including some who also had questions and concerns about a different type of green energy—solar projects that were already in progress before the fiscal court ratified a two-year moratorium on new ones this past February.
In other business:
• The fiscal court unanimously approved an ordinance that now allows properly licensed, equipped and insured special purpose vehicles to operate in the unincorporated areas of the county. (This does not include the roads inside the cities of Henderson, Corydon and Robards.)
A state law allowing special purpose vehicles on certain roadways was passed in March 2025 by the Kentucky legislature.
• The remainder of the meeting consisted of routine business including the annual consideration of the county’s emergency operations plan, a request from County Engineer Nick Stallings to initiate a road study (focusing on evaluating speed limits) and an update from Henderson County Water District Superintendent Mark Julian on upgrades and repairs being made to the system.
