Williams County approves two temporary meteorological towers, denies one after township setback concerns

Williams County commissioners on April 1 approved two conditional use permits and denied a third for temporary meteorological (MET) towers proposed by Apex Clean Energy for the Homestead Wind project, following objections from Strandall Township about setbacks from occupied homes.

The approvals were for LUDash0100Dash24 and LUDash0102Dash24; the board denied LUDash0101Dash24 after extended discussion about township setback rules and whether the county is bound by them. The MET towers are temporary structures intended to collect wind-characteristic data in advance of a possible wind farm development.

The items came before the board during the Planning and Zoning section of the April 1 meeting. Planning staff described each tower as approximately 60 meters tall, guyed with anchor eyes and wire rope clips, placed roughly 285 feet from outside parcel boundary lines, and without electrical utilities or moving mechanical parts. Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations varied by site: the first tower was recommended for approval (Planning and Zoning vote recorded as 4–1–1), the second was recommended by a narrower margin (recorded as 3–2 with 1 abstention), and the third was recommended 5–0 with 1 abstention.

Matt Eberl, lead developer for Homestead Wind with Apex Clean Energy, told commissioners that the MET towers are temporary and that the company had already installed two similar towers elsewhere in Williams County. “These MET towers are exactly the same and … they are temporary,” Eberl said. He also said the company has submitted building-permit applications and expects to install towers within weeks upon local approvals to begin collecting data; if construction of the wind farm proceeds, Eberl said the towers would be removed before turbine construction begins.

Kate (county planning staff) clarified technical details during the hearing, noting the towers “have no mechanical parts… They don't make any sound,” and that the applicant had deliberately sited towers to minimize impact on farming (setbacks of at least 1.1 times tip height from roads and structures were cited for one site).

The most contested item was LUDash0101Dash24, located in Strandall Township. Robert Arms, chairman of Strandall Township, told the board his township has a one-mile setback ordinance for wind turbines and urged the county to respect that setback, saying the proposed MET tower “is gonna be a half a mile from an occupied residence.” Commissioners debated whether imposing a one-mile condition would require restarting the notice process (moving the site could change the radius of notified landowners and trigger re-notification). That procedural concern, and the fact that the county administers zoning and is not strictly bound by township ordinances, framed the board's deliberations.

After discussion, a motion to approve LUDash0101Dash24 with an added one-mile setback failed. The board then voted to deny that conditional use permit; recorded roll-call votes on the denial show a majority in favor of denial. The other two CUPs (LUDash0100Dash24 and LUDash0102Dash24) were approved in separate motions by recorded roll calls.

Planning staff said each tower would be placed under a signed lease with landowners (the packet described an initial development lease term plus long-term operational options). In testimony, Eberl described the full lease structure for the overall project (not the tower permitting itself) as including an initial development period followed by a 30-year operational term and additional ten-year options; he emphasized that MET towers would be removed once construction and operations begin.

The board did not take further county-level action to adopt township setback rules; staff reminded commissioners that the county administers zoning and that adding a site-specific setback could change required notifications and restart the planning process. Apex Clean Energy indicated it will work with township representatives on site placement for future submittals and may return with revised locations or future applications for project approvals.

The record shows the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed each application (votes as noted) and that applicants must obtain building permits from the Williams County Building Division and adhere to the Williams County zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. No construction timeline for the larger Homestead Wind project was finalized by the board; Eberl said a full project application could follow and construction, if approved and permitted, might begin in 2027.