By Bill Archer
BLUEFIELD — Brian Cochran, Bluefield city solicitor, in the process of drafting a tall structure ordinance so the city has something in place if a developer specifically wants to acquire property and erect a wind turbine project like the proposed Dominion and BP project in Tazewell County, but Cochran said there’s no hurry to get one in place.
“The city of Bluefield already has some restrictive zoning in place,” Cochran said. “I don’t see where our code would allow a development like the one that has been proposed in Tazewell County.”
Wind turbines have been very much in the news in recent months as the public as well as elected officials have debated the pros and cons of the beneficial aspects of wind energy and the impact the structures would have on the region’s mountain scenery. After an emotionally-charged meeting last Tuesday, the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in favor of a tall structure ordinance that will halt Dominion and BP’s proposal if it holds up under appeal.
“With the zoning we already have in place, it would be very difficult for something like that to happen,” Cochran said. “We will produce some language that will address that specifically, but our current zoning laws in the city are much more restrictive than anything in Tazewell or even Mercer counties.”
Indeed, Mercer County has no zoning laws. “The cities and municipalities have zoning laws, but the county does not,” Joe Coburn, president of the Mercer County Commission said. “We’ve been into this for years, but every time the issue comes up, the people will go along with it to a point, but then when we start getting serious about it, people tell us they don’t want anything to do with it.”
Coburn said that Mercer County’s commissioners watched the situation in Tazewell County very closely. “We don’t think there are any plans to do something like that in Mercer County,” Coburn said. “I do, however, think and believe that countywide zoning is coming to Mercer County in the future.”
Willie Howlett, Bland County, Va., administrator, said that countywide zoning brings balance to any discussion involving the desires of businesses to develop a site and the rights of home owners.
“When a business wants to get a conditional use permit to expand their business or build a new facility, they go before the zoning board before they come to our meeting,” Howlett said. “We’re very accommodating to businesses.”
Prior to adopting countywide zoning, the Bland County board of supervisors had to deal with a strong public outcry when an entrepreneur brought up the issue of erecting a nuclear waste storage site in the county and a few years later when a business wanted to build a medical waste facility in the county.
“We have a standard procedure that is accommodating to businesses and residents,” Howlett said. “Our board seeks balance to maintain the beauty and integrity of our communities and to attract the right kinds of businesses that are a good fit in Bland County,” he said.
– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com
