Jackson County supervisors table wind-energy ordinance pending legal, safety and airport questions

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors on March 4, 2025, voted to table a proposed wind-energy ordinance while staff and the county attorney gather additional information on three specific issues: a 3,280-foot safety setback, a proposed 10-mile buffer from the Mississippi River, and protections for the county airport.

The board discussed technical and locational concerns raised at a prior public hearing and during the supervisors' meeting. Zoning administrator Laurie (listed in the meeting as the county zoning administrator) summarized that some changes requested at the public hearing—most prominently a larger setback and a proposed 10-mile Mississippi buffer—would be substantial and could require further legal review or another public hearing.

Supervisors noted competing priorities: protecting wildlife and scenic areas along the Mississippi and the Great River Road, ensuring safety-based setbacks recommended in industry guidance, and preserving local authority to deal with unique topography in eastern Jackson County (sinkholes and karst geology). Board members asked for documentation backing the numeric setbacks, including operations- or manufacturer-based safety guidance for the 3,280-foot figure and any scientific basis for the 10-mile river buffer.

The board also asked staff to check how the ordinance would intersect with state natural resources guidance and any existing scenic-byway protections. Multiple supervisors expressed concern about whether a countywide 10-mile buffer is an evidence-based parameter or an arbitrary number, and they requested guidance that would apply to Jackson County’s topography and airports.

After discussion the board made a motion to table the ordinance until staff could obtain clarifying information from the county attorney and other sources about decibel/sound guidance, the 3,280-foot safety figure, the 10-mile Mississippi buffer, and airport protection. The motion carried by voice vote.

The board directed staff to return with the county attorney’s guidance on whether the two proposed changes would require a new public hearing or could be handled as minor edits, and to compile references (state/federal guidance, academic or industry studies) that justify any setback distances proposed in the ordinance.

The item will return to a future meeting after staff reports back with the requested legal and technical information.