On Wednesday, the Henderson City-County Planning Commission will begin a series of seven scheduled public hearings, all with the goal of gathering both expert and public testimony to put together a wind energy conversion system (WECS) ordinance.
The leadup to this—both on social media and in governmental meetings—has at times been testy. Some have said elected officials already have made up their minds, whereas elected officials have repeatedly said sending the issue through the planning and zoning process will protect the county should litigation occur later.
Whatever the take, the process begins 6 p.m. Wednesday. Because planning commission staff are expecting a larger-than-normal crowd, the meeting will be at the Fiscal Court Courtroom in the Old Courthouse.
They’re also preparing for what could be a contentious meeting, having requested two sheriff’s deputies to provide security, said Brian Bishop, the planning commission’s executive director.
Bishop, however, told the Hendersonian he hopes that the first meeting is all business, saying he wants it to be an “informational and professional meeting” in which data is collected to eventually put together a draft ordinance.
The topic for the first meeting is “Land Use and Siting Criteria,” and planning commission staff will present their recommendations on wind turbine height limits, setbacks and zoning, Bishop said.
He said he anticipated that planning commission staff would present their recommendations first at the meeting. After that—as is the common planning commission protocol—attorneys representing different groups are allowed to speak without an imposed time limit. Finally, members of the public can speak, with a time limit.
Recent discussions at planning commission meetings indicated that members of the public would have five minutes to speak, but if time runs out on a person, he or she can return to the podium for more time after all the others who wish to speak have spoken.
Bishop said in a previous meeting that presenters can submit a physical copy of their testimony/research at the meeting to be entered into the record. Presenters are also encouraged to submit it electronically so that it can more easily be added to the collection of documents that can be shared with the public, he said. But if a person can’t send an electronic version, Bishop said a physical copy is acceptable and it will be scanned and put into the electronic collection.
There’s also the issue of length of the meeting. The planning commission routinely sets a time limit for meetings that could run long with the agreement to continue the meeting the next night. The planning commission protocol ends meetings at 9 p.m. and if the meeting’s business has not been concluded, including more members of the public who want to speak, then the planning commission reconvenes the following evening at 6 p.m. to continue the meeting.
Here are the current scheduled dates for the WECS public hearings:
The current dates of the public hearings, including the switch, are:
- Land use and siting criteria: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
- Noise, vibration and shadow flicker: 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 20, 2026
- Environmental and ecological impacts: 6 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, 2026
- Health and annoyance impact review: 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026
- Safety, engineering and infrastructure: 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026
- Regulatory and administrative framework: 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027
- Post draft ordinance public engagement and transparency: 6 p.m., March 17, 2027
