Peoria County updates wind-energy rules after extended public comment and legal review

Peoria County’s Land Use Committee voted unanimously to amend Chapter 20 of the Unified Development Ordinance to add detailed review standards, submission requirements and timelines for commercial wind energy facilities.

The committee’s action updates Article 3 (special use permits), Article 7 (commercial wind energy facilities) and Article 11 (definitions) to align county review with state law while clarifying application completeness, material-change rules, submittal timing and required studies.

Committee staff and outside counsel said the package was drafted after multiple rounds of outreach that began in October and included WebEx meetings on Feb. 3 and Feb. 10. Andrew Braun, Peoria County zoning director, said the amendments replace prior “approval standards” language with “review standards” and incorporate the LaSalle-Sinclair factors used by the Illinois Supreme Court as the county’s balancing test. Braun told the committee, “we are aligning this ordinance with the same, not being overly restrictive or more restrictive than the state.”

The ordinance adds or clarifies: which materials must be submitted with special-use…