Energy District bylaw draws sparks from landowners and industry

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Wheatland County council had to balance decisions on protecting agricultural land with demands for developing commercial and industrial properties that bring economic opportunity to the county.
“Landowner rights are always a top priority for me, so I do think this has to be a consideration for me when we are looking at this draft bylaw; however, we have a responsibility of mitigating the effects of those individual decisions on adjacent landowners and … and we also have to manage the cumulative effects that have broader consequences for agriculture, regarding in particular fragmentation,” said Wheatland County Reeve Amber Link.
She said the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan and Wheatland County’s Municipal Development Plan suggest a cumulative management approach to balance economic development opportunities with cultural and environmental concerns.
The public hearing, held on May 7, had a strong turnout from developers and energy companies. Landowners had submitted objections and one landowner presented his concerns.
Several industry stakeholders asked council to postpone the public hearing to gain more feedback from landowners and address ramifications produced by the new bylaw.
Councillors Glen Koester and Ben Armstrong indicated a greater landowner turnout would occur if the hearing were postponed, as it is currently seeding time for many farmers. Several of the newer elected councillors disagreed with postponing the hearing.
“If it’s important enough to these landowners, they would be here,” said Councillor Tom Ikert.
Link stated she understood the importance of farmers getting their crops planted; however, she said if council centred their council meeting on agriculture practices, they may never get business completed, as agriculture has demands all year long. A council majority decided not to postpone the public hearing.
Landowner Rod Vergouwen, whose family has farmed in Wheatland County for 125 years, presented his concerns about the bylaw to council.
“I really think it is important that we look after our farmland going in here. Farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land, and production of these crops and grasslands produce huge public interest benefits,” said Vergouwen.
He outlined protection of wetlands, wildlife, endangered species and positive climate change factors are what agricultural lands bring to the table. He said he was concerned about costs for decommissioned facilities falling into the landowners’ and the county laps. He said the loss of natural spaces and visual pollution alters residents’ enjoyment of county vistas. In the draft bylaw, once a property is designated under the Energy District, no new residential projects can be built on that parcel. Comments at the public hearing indicated this reduced choices for farmers on their properties.
County landowner Darcy Morgan wanted more information on the discretionary uses within the bylaw and asked about the development authority decision processes. Two other landowners commented they appreciated greater restrictions on these developments, and another agreed they should not be allowed to build on agriculture properties.
Markus Lehmann, founder and president of Navigatio Capital, gave a historical summary of alternative energy development and upcoming trends for renewable energy projects. He said 85 per cent of Canada’s energy production will be through renewable projects and there is significant expansion worldwide.
Meanwhile, East Strathmore Solar Project had previously made application for a solar facility within Wheatland County. They are holding an open house on the proposed project at Crowfoot Community Hall on April 5, from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
According to Kolja Vainstein, project manager with East Strathmore Solar Project, the new bylaw changed the ground rules and they have already spent thousands of dollars on the proposed project. He said he wondered if existing applications could be grandfathered in under the previous application requirements, and that the company is willing to work with the county on revisions to the bylaw. He addressed fears the facilities would eat up farmland, explaining they have to be close to power generation stations, so a limited amount of properties will be suitable for the projects.
Evan Wilson, prairies regional director with the Canadian Wind Energy Association, also had concerns. He said the draft bylaw sends a message that Wheatland County is closed for business and the result will be loss of jobs and tax revenue. He noted these facilities bring employment opportunities and they have the potential to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue that could pay for services normally paid by county residents. Farmers benefit through the lease contracts which include freedom for farmers to use areas not used by the energy infrastructure. Many of the county guidelines are already covered under the various provincial regulatory requirements.
“There is a lot that is being done by the province, and anything being done additionally here in the municipality should be consistent with that or refer to the rules already brought in by the province,” said Wilson.
County staff were asked how they came up with bylaw requirements and they said they looked at provincial requirements and incorporated some of the input council gave them in the past. Councillor Jason Wilson indicated council had looked at the issue three times and gave direction to staff for developing a bylaw.
Koester said some of the setbacks were excessive and suggested they be changed to be consistent with the other county development bylaws. He said a better setback for wind towers would be 75 feet (ft.) plus the height plus 10 per cent of the tower being installed. He also asked that the 8 ft. fencing requirement be removed, as it didn’t really provide additional safety features and it was an impediment to farming practises.
There was some disagreement and confusion regarding where measurements should start for distance from hamlets, residences and adjacent landowner residences. In discussion, the buyer beware policy was emphasized.
“The landowner has freedom as to what happens on their land, but they also have the responsibility to protect themselves,” said Koester.
Armstrong noted if the bylaw is too restrictive, the province may step in and take approval away from municipalities, as it did in the oil and gas sector.
Koester said there wasn’t a need for so many specifics in this bylaw, as restrictions could be put in place when the individual parcel applications come in for approval and appear before council for acceptance. The public hearings on those will allow adjacent owners to give input at that time as well.
“That’s why I like the public aspect so much. It gives individual control to individual property owners’ site specific,” said Koester. “The re-designation gives a voice to the people that own the property adjacent, and they can come in to participate in the public hearing process.”
Koester’s original request for amendments was overruled by council majority vote. Further discussion provided other amendments. Staff wanted to know if energy facilities should be subdivided out of land parcels; however, Armstrong indicated if those were subdivided, building opportunities or other uses would be lost and it could affect landowners’ use of the land for extended periods. Alternatively, subdividing each wind tower out was unrealistic.
“I don’t think that’s reasonable either. We are missing something here,” said Armstrong. He also questioned why there was a rush on the bylaw acceptance, and why council members wanted the bylaw pushed through without seeing it revised in writing.
Staff revised the bylaw by the end of business on May 7, and gave a verbal report on changes made. Adjustments were made to some of the setbacks and the provision of spot zoning, or special considerations was included to deal with complicated sections under the bylaw.
Second and third readings including the final amendments were accepted by majority vote, with Koester and Armstrong opposed. The bylaw will be posted on the Wheatland County website.