During their regular meeting the commissioners reviewed a proposed wind energy ordinance prepared by Village Attorney Mark Steichen.

Interest was raised in February when village resident Ron Ballweg told commissioners he wanted to install a small wind turbine atop his garage on Willow Street. Ballweg’s proposal was for a 40-foot-high turbine typically used to provide power on sail boats. He said it would give him back-up power in case of emergencies like ice storms.

In reporting to the Plan Commission, Steichen said state law encourages the use of wind power, so the village can’t simply forbid it. Rather, they have to design ordinances to regulate wind power turbines to ensure health and safety.

The ordinance Plan Commission members recommended to the village Board Thursday night requires property owners get a building permit to construct wind energy systems. It allows small wind turbines in any zoning district of the village. They should produce no more than 100 kilowatts of power and the highest reach of their rotor blades should be no more than 170 feet.

Towers must be far enough from surrounding objects that they can’t fall on overhead utility lines or cross neighboring property lines, according to the ordinance. Ground-level electrical equipment must be locked up and the tower must be inaccessible to the public. All parts of wind energy systems in the village must comply with state construction and electrical codes and the National Electrical Code.

Plan Commission members recommended the new ordinance to the Village Board with no changes.

In other action committee members began considering changes to Chapter 17 of the village ordinances, the zoning code, with a brainstorming session about what changes are needed.

Commission member Don Larson said the zoning ordinances are "very outdated." He was particularly concerned with a lack of off-street parking that leaves major streets such as Berkley Boulevard and Connie Road restricted by parked cars.

"I’ve lived in a couple communities where you had to have garage space for every vehicle you had and you had to have off-street parking for everything else," Larson said. "If you had a party or little ho-ha until two in the morning, that was all right, but not having it be there all night."

While as a car dealer, Larson said it is to his advantage that most households have multiple vehicles, but the rules for village residences don’t take that into account.

Village Trustee Elgin Bulin said he is generally satisfied with the village zoning rules.

Commission member Gary Kowalke noted that the 8,500 square-foot minimum lot size in the village is "a little small," Lots that small are not big enough for the houses people want to build along with required setbacks.

He urged making any changes carefully, while they "cover all the bases."

"As soon as we change an ordinance, what else is it going to affect?" he asked. "It seems like when you change one thing it affects three other things."

Commission member Claire Barnett said an issue with trying to impose stricter zoning rules is how to enforce them. The village is debating whether to hire a zoning administrator and there is no village police force.

"I think need to pay attention as we revise things to meet the needs of the village now and also in the future, that we also keep in mind that we have to have some means of enforcement," she said.

Steichen encouraged the commission members to continue thinking about necessary improvements and to listen to issues raised by other village residents.

Information about the village of West Baraboo including village trustees and other officials, their contact information, meeting agendas and village ordinances may be found online — http://www.vi.westbaraboo.wi.gov.