Henderson panel rejects windmill

Henderson City Council members have blown down plans to erect a four-story windmill in the backyard of a Green Valley home, but their decision could lead to the establishment of a wind farm elsewhere in the city.

Attorney and entrepreneur Kermitt Waters first proposed the wind turbine in October as a way to lower his electricity bill and demonstrate the benefits of renewable energy on a residential scale.

His neighbors near Green Valley Parkway and the Las Vegas Beltway railed against the idea, and the Henderson Planning Commission rejected it.

The matter seemed destined for a lawsuit until Tuesday night, when City Councilman Steve Kirk proposed a last-minute compromise: Instead of putting up his windmill in the middle of an established residential area, perhaps Waters could build it on a few acres of vacant property the city owns far from homes. That way, Kirk said, Waters could get what he wants -- to test his turbine and earn power credits from NV Energy -- without disrupting a whole neighborhood in the process.

Best of all, Kirk said, the city might just end up with a new model for the development of a privately funded wind farm on municipal land.

Waters did not attend Tuesday's meeting, but his representative, George Garcia, said the idea warrants discussion.

The rest of the City Council agreed, voting Tuesday to delay final action on the windmill until July 20 so Kirk's suggestion can be studied.

In the process, however, Council members made it clear that they did not support Waters' original plan to build the 45-foot tall structure in the backyard of his home at 4 Crown Valley Drive.

Their comments and the proposed compromise drew a round of applause from the roughly 70 homeowners who turned out to fight the windmill, many of them dressed in fluorescent green T-shirts printed with the neighborhood's new rallying cry, "Not a big fan."

Cami Putnam, who lives next door to Waters, called Kirk's idea a "win-win."

"I think that's going to be good for both of us," she said. "For the record, none of us is against green energy."

Kirk said if the city succeeds in locating a more suitable site for Waters' windmill, others may decide to put up turbines of their own on the same property, resulting in the green-power equivalent of a community garden.

Waters' permit application calls for a vertical axis wind turbine that would stand about 45 feet high and resemble a giant eggbeater standing on end.

Planning officials raised concerns about the structure's safety, height, noise and compatibility with the neighborhood.

On Tuesday, Kirk said such a windmill simply doesn't fit in a suburban neighborhood, and he took exception to Waters' claims that it would actually raise property values in the area.

"I wouldn't want to live next to one, and I can almost guarantee that I wouldn't buy a house next to one," the councilman said.