Aug. 26--CHAMPAIGN -- Champaign City Council members were unanimous Tuesday in wanting to encourage development of wind turbines as an alternative, sustainable energy source.

By a vote of 9-0, the council directed city staff to develop an ordinance to allow wind energy conversion systems in the city. Council members expressed strong opposition, though, to any suggestion that large wind turbines would be outright prohibited within their 1.5-mile extra-terratorial jurisdiction.

Marci Dodds, District 4, said she was "deeply uncomfortable" with a prohibition.

"If we are calling ourselves a 'sustainable community,' this makes sense," she said.

Tom Bruno, at-large alderman, said, "Generation of electrical power doesn't have to be exactly where it is used. There are wires."

Bruno said the city needs to lead by example.

"We should allow that kind of innovation," he said. "I don't want a blanket prohibition. I would rather err on the side of innovation."

Will Kyles, District 1, said wind turbines may help nonprofit agencies like Restoration Urban Ministries and low-income housing like Gateway, which was shut down due to failure to pay power bills. "The potential savings for not-for-profit agencies and the typical household could be astronomical," Kyles said.

City Planner Bruce Knight said state law requires cities to regulate wind turbines within 1.5 miles of their city limits.

In a presentation to the council, Jeff Marino of the planning staff discussed many types of wind turbines, ranging in size and shape. There even some models which use the wind coming up off the face of buildings, he said.

Potential problems with noise or shadow flicker are not significant with the small wind turbines, he said. Those units classified as "small wind," generate less than 100 kilowatts of power.

Most cities that have ordinances on wind turbines that require them to be set back from a property line by a distance equal to the height of the tower. Some communities restrict taller towers by requiring them to be at least 1,000 feet from other residential land uses.

Knight said that a large wind tower could be built within the city with a special-use permit.

"We wouldn't allow a 60-foot tower in the middle of a subdivision, but if it is planned right and enables everybody in the subdivision to have lower electricity bills, it may be worthwhile," Knight said.

In other business Tuesday, council members also heard a report from the Regional Water Supply Planning Committee, Mahomet Aquifer Consortium, that calls for more regional planning to assure sustainable water supplies for the area.

Brad Uken, chairman of the Regional Water Supply Planning Committee, presented a report on the current use and potential uses through 2050 for the Mahomet Aquifer.

Uken and the regional planning committee call for more discussion of water use issues, particularly in dealing with any multi-year drought. Those plans should be done at the regional level by the stakeholders in a given region, he said.

"All of us must work together as we develop management plans," he said. "As long as people have water for their coffee pots and water for their shower in the morning, they are not thinking about where the water comes from."

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