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Planning Commission recommends five temporary construction and helicopter-yard permits for Forbes Bros with conditions
Summary
Lincoln County Planning Commission recommended approval of five conditional-use permits (CU26-004 through CU26-008) for Forbes Bros Timberline Construction to operate temporary construction/assembly yards and limited helicopter lifts, subject to county road agreements, perimeter fencing on some sites and permit end dates July 1, 2029; one commissioner abstained on the Forbes items.
The Lincoln County Planning Commission on May 12 considered five related conditional-use applications filed by Forbes Bros Timberline Construction (Files CU26-004 through CU26-008) to establish temporary construction-material and assembly yards and to use helicopters for lifting sections of lattice towers.
County Planner Judy Clark told the commission the yards will be temporary, use timber mats or aggregate for access, and are intended for material storage, assembly of tower sections and helicopter lifts. Clark said the yards will increase construction traffic but should not create public traffic and that Planning Staff had no objections provided the Lincoln County Department of Roads approves road access.
Sam McLeroy, project manager for Timberline Construction, told the commission the helicopter operations would be limited: "it will be on site for about 2 weeks and only 3 times," and said the company plans to use a land agent to notify properties under flight paths to move cattle out of harm’s way. McLeroy also said the project team is "pushing to get road agreements in place" and plans the first helicopter lift in April 2027.
Members of the public asked about fire prevention and airspace. Dan Fleecs asked how fire prevention will be handled; McLeroy described the contractor’s fire-prevention approach. Dennis Brosius, who operates an aerial-application business, raised questions about the airspace; McLeroy repeated the anticipated first-fly date.
For each application the commission adopted a resolution recommending approval with conditions. Common conditions recorded in the meeting minutes included approval of a county road agreement and a permit end date of July 1, 2029. Several of the permits also required an adequate perimeter fence around the work yard. On the recorded roll-call votes the aye votes were Chair Brent Roggow, Aaron Edwards, Lee Davies, Zak Eickhoff, Roger Merritt and Chuck Boden; Commissioner Judy Pederson abstained on the Forbes Bros permits where indicated.
The commission’s recommended approvals state that the applications comply with Lincoln County Zoning Regulations, Subdivision Regulations and the Lincoln County Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map, and they will be forwarded consistent with those findings.
