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Scott County opens public hearing on adding thermal electric generation as a special use after CIPCO presentation
Summary
The Board of Supervisors opened a public hearing Oct. 21 on a text amendment to allow thermal electric generation facilities as a special permitted use in the Agricultural Preservation district after presentations from planning staff and Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO). CIPCO outlined reliability and local benefit arguments; residents urged stronger protections for farmland, larger setbacks and more environmental review. The county will hold a first reading Thursday and may vote again at a later meeting.
Scott County supervisors opened a public hearing Oct. 21 on a proposed zoning text amendment that would add “thermal electric energy generation facility” to the list of special permitted uses in the county’s Agricultural Preservation zoning district.
Planning staff told the board the change would not approve any site; it would only create a pathway for applicants to request a special use permit. Greg Schaufeld of Planning and Zoning said the Plan & Zone Commission considered the language in multiple public meetings and recommended the draft text unanimously. Schaufeld said the ordinance is written to try to protect agricultural land by steering projects toward existing natural‑gas pipelines and transmission lines and by including a decommissioning requirement if a plant ceases intentional operation for more than a year.
Representatives of Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) presented technical and reliability reasons for the change. Kevin Condon, CIPCO director of public affairs, said the cooperative’s members concluded a peaking facility would help…
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