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Elbert County approves three Bijou Hills meteorological towers; board discusses decommissioning timeline
Summary
The Elbert County Board approved three special-use-by-review permits for temporary meteorological (MET) towers to collect wind and environmental data. Planning staff and the applicant agreed to a condition to remove towers within 120 days of lease end; the board debated whether to add a fixed SUR timeline for the towers.
The Elbert County Board of County Commissioners on June 11 approved three special-use-by-review permits for temporary meteorological towers proposed by Bijou Hills Wind LLC to collect wind and other environmental data on three separate agricultural parcels.
Planning staff described the three SUR applications (SUR 20240109, SUR 20240114 and SUR 20242490) as broadly identical except for height: two towers at about 60 meters (197 feet) and one at about 81.3 meters (266 feet). Staff said parcels are large ranching properties located several miles from the nearest towns and that the closest residences are more than half a mile away for two sites and roughly three-quarters of a mile for others. The tallest tower will include FAA-required aviation paint and lighting; the towers are purely meteorological and will not broadcast signals.
Matthew Pagan, project representative for Bijou Hills Wind LLC, said the towers are low-impact and intended only to collect environmental data; he told commissioners the company had engaged neighbors and responded to referral comments. “Our deployment of our 3 temporary MET towers have no basis or relation to the Colorado power pathway,” Pagan said in response to a public comment question about whether the data would feed the Power Pathway project.
Planning Commission recommended approval 6–1 with suggested additional conditions: (1) require removal of towers within 120 days after lease termination or conclusion of data collection, (2) consider a finite term (a five-year period was discussed at the planning commission), and (3) include an updated deed for one property (which staff said was provided). Planning staff outlined standard SUR conditions already required: removal of public hearing signs within 14 days of a decision, payment of fees (including a 2% construction-cost fee) before recordation, recordation of SUR exhibits within 180 days of approval, and adherence to FAA/FCC/CDOT regulations.
Bijou Hills’ representative said the company would agree to the 120-day decommissioning requirement but asked the board not to set a fixed five‑year term on the SURs, citing uncertainty about how long data collection might take and uneven precedent for such time limits. Commissioner Schroeder and others objected to inserting the county into the private lease relationship or imposing an arbitrary timeline; Schroeder said enforcement and contract‑level matters should generally remain between the landowner and applicant unless an SUR’s conditions are violated.
The board voted to approve the three SURs (motions and votes recorded as "all in favor, aye" in the transcript). The approvals include the four standard SUR conditions described in the staff report; the board left discretionary adoption of the planning commission’s additional 120‑day removal and a specific multi‑year timeline to its discretion. Planning staff and the applicant indicated willingness to work further with the county on decommissioning language.
The SUR approvals permit temporary installation of the MET towers and do not change agricultural zoning. Staff said the towers will be removed and the SUR entitlement revoked if data collection concludes or the lease ends, subject to the conditions required by the county.
