Support to rezone 524 acres around Byron nuclear station split so far

OREGON — Support for Constellation Energy Generation’s request to rezone 524 acres of land around the Byron Generating Station is split.

Constellation is asking that 10 land parcels in Rockvale and Marion townships be rezoned from AG-1 Agricultural to I-1 Industrial. Nine of the parcels are to the east of the nuclear plant and are contiguous; the final parcel, which is only 1.3 acres in size, is southwest of the plant and surrounded by I-1 Industrial-zoned land.

The company also is asking for a text amendment to the Ogle County Zoning Code that would add data centers as a special-use in I-1 Industrial districts.

“We do not have a customer, but it is easier for us to sign an agreement with a potential customer that knows the community is open to industrial development,” said Ryan Tozer, Constellation local government affairs manager. “We are not seeking any development approvals at this time. All we’re doing is creating a marketable environment so we can create marketable development.”

Both the rezoning and the text amendment requests ultimately are up to the Ogle County Board.

But first, they go before three county bodies – the Regional Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Supervisor of Assessments and Planning and Zoning Committee.

The RPC on June 27 voted 3-2 to recommend the Ogle County Board deny Constellation’s petition to rezone 596.33 acres. Members Jeffrey Franklin, Dale Flanagan and Dennis Probasco voted to deny the petition; Chairman Paul W. White and Vice Chairman Wayne Reising voted against denying it.

Seven parcels were removed from the request after the RPC expressed concern about the number of acres being considered for rezoning, Tozer said.

On July 25, ZBA members voted 3-2 to approve Constellation’s revised petition. Chairman Randy Ocken and members Mark Probasco and Jamey Sulser voted yes; Vice Chairman Paul Soderholm and member Randy Bulthaus voted no.

Byron City Council members voted 5-0 to support the rezoning at their July 17 meeting, while Marion Township trustees voted 5-0 to oppose the petition at their July 22 meeting.

The trustees voted to deny the petition “mostly based on the open-endedness” of rezoning, Marion Township Supervisor Keith Wiltfang said. A data center wouldn’t require 524 acres of land, leaving much of the acreage “open for who knows what,” he said.

The land up for rezoning has prime farming soil, and part of the ZBA’s job is to facilitate the wise use of farmland, Soderholm told Constellation representatives.

“The big problem I see is, once you put a shovel in the ground, that’s pretty much an irreversible decision,” he said.

Ogle County’s comprehensive plan also specifically calls for technologically-related and renewable energy-related facilities, said Benjamin Schuster, an attorney for Constellation.

“Part of this is a balance,” Schuster said. “One of the important things to remember is, even if land is zoned agricultural, it doesn’t mean it’s going to forever be used as farmland. Even if it’s industrial, it’s not for sure that it’s not going to be used as farmland.”

Rezoning the parcels in question is good planning practices and is consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan, he said.

“Where better in the entire county [to put industrial] than next to the nuclear power plant?” Schuster said. “Instead of other places that are a mix of other uses, next to the plant seems like a great place to be.”

Tim Kaffenbarger, who owns property about 1 mile away from the nuclear plant and lives on an adjacent parcel, presented ZBA members with a preliminary petition signed by most of the landowners adjacent to the parcels proposed for rezoning. He said he’ll officially submit it once he has spoken to all relevant landowners.

Kaffenbarger worked in a management position in the chemistry department at the nuclear plant for almost 20 years, and said he is “definitely not anti-nuclear plant” or against moving forward with green energy.

“I am against the blanket rezoning of 524 acres,” Kaffenbarger said.

The Supervisor of Assessments and Planning and Zoning Committee meets 10 a.m. Aug. 13 in the third-floor county board room of the Old Ogle County Courthouse, 105 S. Fifth St., Oregon. Committee members will review both the RPC and ZBA recommendations.

All three bodies’ decisions will be sent to the full Ogle County Board for consideration. The County Board is set to vote on the matter at its Aug. 28 meeting.