The municipality of Kihniö has decided to initiate the preparation of a legally effective partial master plan for the Myyränkankaas area for wind power at its meeting on 14 February 2022, Section 27. According to the decision, the partial master plan will be prepared as a master plan in accordance with Section 77 a of the Finnish Land Use Act, which means that the master plan can be used directly as the basis for a building permit.

On 15 June 2022, the Technical Committee approved the Participation and Assessment Plan (OAS) for the Section 61 Myyränkankaas Wind Farm Sub-General Plan and decided to make it available for 30 days for soliciting opinions and statements. The OAS was available on the Kihniö Municipality website and as paper material at the municipal hall and library from 23 June to 14 August 2022.

During the initiation phase of the partial master plan, a joint public event was organized in Puumila on June 28, 2022, along with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for the Myyränkankaa wind power project.

The project area is located in the municipality of Kihniö, approximately 9 kilometers northeast of the central business district of Kihniö. The planning area is located on the border of Virtai municipality and approximately 5 kilometers from the border of Seinäjoki municipality and 7 kilometers from the border of Kurikka municipality. The nearest village is Kurjenkylä, approximately one kilometer east of the planning area. The preliminary total area of ​​the wind power project planning area is approximately 40 km2.

The planning area is mainly a forested area used for forestry. Based on the building data in the terrain database of the National Land Survey of Finland, there are no residential or holiday buildings in the planning area. The nearest settlements are located along Kurjenkylätie, approximately 1 kilometer east of the planning area, and along Isonniementie, approximately 1 kilometer west of the planning area.

Alongside the Myyränkankaas partial master plan, the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA procedure) for the Myyränkankaas wind power project will be implemented simultaneously as a separate process. The EIA procedure will examine the environmental impacts of the project and its alternatives. The prepared reports and the results of the assessment will be utilized in the partial master plan, which will decide on the implementation of the project. The partial master plan will define, among other things, the locations, maximum numbers and heights of power plants that can be placed. The plan may also include provisions to mitigate adverse impacts.

A wind farm with a maximum of 27 windmills is planned for the entire project area, with a unit capacity of 7-10 MW per windmill. The total height of the wind turbines is a maximum of 320 meters. The partial master plan examines the maximum solution considered in the EIA procedure, which is 19 wind turbines in the Kihniö municipality's plan area.

The draft plan designates 19 wind turbine construction sites for the Kihniö planning area. The total height of each power plant is a maximum of 320 meters above ground level. The plan solution designates the area as an agricultural and forestry area, where wind turbines may be located in the designated areas (tv-1). The location of power plants in the tv-1 area is defined by an indicative circular marking, within which the wind turbine must be located. The exact location of the power plants is defined in connection with the building permit. Construction serving agriculture and forestry is permitted in the agricultural and forestry area. The plan indicates the road alignments required by the power plants, which are partly existing and partly new. New road alignments are indicated with a dotted line. The location of the underground cable serving the internal electricity transmission of the wind power area is indicated as an indicative location along the service roads. The area of ​​the plan area is 2996,46 ha. Valuable natural sites are indicated with a luo marking.

The nearest urban settlement to the wind turbines is in the village of Kihniö, approximately 5 kilometres southwest of the planning area. The central settlement of Virtai is located approximately 21 km east of the planning area. A total of 9 residential buildings and 26 holiday homes are located less than two kilometres from the nearest planned wind turbine.

The impacts of the entire project have been comprehensively assessed in the EIA report. The environmental impact assessment is based on a multi-objective assessment, i.e. a systematic examination of the magnitude of the impacts, the nature/sensitivity of the affected areas and the resulting significance of the impacts.

Land use in the planning area is mainly forestry. There are no community structure or land use development needs in the planning area or its immediate vicinity that would not be compatible with wind power construction. The planning solution does not conflict with the regional plan. With the implementation of the plan, forestry can continue in the majority of the area.

There are no nationally or provincially valuable landscape areas or areas of built cultural environment in the planning area or its immediate vicinity. The significance of the landscape impacts is assessed as varyingly minor, moderate or even significant in places, depending on the location and distance to the power plants. The viewer's experience also affects the significance.

A visual area analysis and illustrative images have been prepared to assess the landscape impacts.

Wind turbines can affect people's living conditions and comfort, especially due to noise, glare and changes in the landscape. The noise impacts of the Myyränkankaas wind power project will remain below the guideline values ​​set out in law and regulations. The most significant impacts on traffic will be caused by special transport arriving in the area during the construction of the wind turbines.

The project area does not include any Natura areas or areas under conservation programmes. The project area includes four Natura areas and two nature reserves.

The landscape and soundscape of the area will change in the vicinity of the power plants, which will have an impact on the recreational experience. The most significant impacts on game will focus on the disturbance during construction and the potential increased traffic in the area. The project will not significantly affect the hunting potential of the area, and the impacts on hunting arrangements and recreational use are assessed to be minor.

The implementation of the wind power project will have positive impacts on the climate, as the project, when implemented, will enable lower-emission electricity production.

In accordance with the Land Use and Building Act, the draft plan is made available for consultation during the preparatory phase. During the public consultation during the draft phase, stakeholders have the opportunity to express their views by submitting a written opinion. The public consultation during the draft phase is scheduled to coincide with the public consultation of the environmental impact assessment report.

Technical Committee 14.5.2025

Myyränkankaas Wind Farm Sub-General Plan Proposal § 48

The Technical Committee discussed the material for the consultation on the preparatory phase of the plan (draft plan) at its meeting on 28 March 2024, Section 98, and the Municipal Board decided to make the material for the preparatory phase of the wind power partial master plan available for viewing in accordance with Section 62 of the Land Use and Building Act and Section 30 of the Decree and to request opinions on it. The draft plan was available for viewing 10.4.-31.5.2024.

The draft plan received 13 statements and 10 opinions, one of which was an address signed by 264 people. Responses have been prepared to the feedback received.

The proposed plan has been prepared taking into account the feedback received and the reasoned conclusion from the project's EIA procedure.

The proposed plan allows for the placement of 19 wind turbines in the planning area. The total height of the turbines is 320 m. The area of ​​the planning area is approximately 2784,1 ha. After the detailed planning phase of the plan, the arrangement of the wind turbines has been changed somewhat, which has made it possible to reduce the delimitation of the planning area. The starting point for the delimitation of the planning area is the 40 dB:b limit plus a buffer area of ​​approximately 200 meters.

The proposed plan has been revised regarding the placement of power plants and the new road connections presented as guidelines. The revised plan has sought to take into account the impacts on natural values. In addition, the plan provision has enabled the placement of solar power production in an area dominated by agriculture and forestry through a separate permit procedure.

Updates have been made to noise and glare modelling, view area analyses and illustrative image adaptations in relation to the planning solution at the proposal stage. In addition, a core territory report has been prepared in relation to the wolf assessment and supplements have been prepared to the golden eagle reports (these two are for official use only). The impact assessment of the plan has been refined to correspond to the planning solution at the proposal stage.

During the preparation of the plan proposal, the municipality of Kihniö and the project manager Abo Energy Suomi Oy have held working negotiations, and official working negotiations have also been held with the authorities.

Project manager Abo Energy Suomi Oy Janne Ristolainen will be presenting the matter at the meeting.
Planning consultant Minna Lehtonen from Ramboll Oy was at the meeting to present the planning proposal via teams.

Attached are the documents related to the proposal.

The Technical Committee decided at its meeting on 1 February 2017 (Section 8) that the terms and conditions for private road maintenance grants were updated in 2018.

According to the new Private Roads Act (Section 84), a municipality can only provide assistance to private roads for which a road maintenance authority has been established and whose information has been entered into the National Land Survey of Finland's private road register and the restrictions on road use have been entered into the national road and street network system (digiroad).

Private road maintenance grants were available for application from 19 February to 30 April 2025. The start of the grant application was announced in the Ylä-Satakunta newspaper and on the municipality's website. 45 grant applications were received by the deadline.

As part of the municipality's financial adjustment measures, grant amounts have been reduced by 50%.

Attached: private roads that have applied for assistance and assistance amounts.

According to Section 110(5) of the Local Government Act, the municipality's operations and financial management must comply with the budget. Any changes to it are decided by the municipal council.

The 2024 budget allocated an investment appropriation of €35.400 for the Geopark cross-country trail Aitoneva-Käskyvuori cost center for sports and recreation areas.
The route was completed last year, but the installation of the route signs was not completed. The cost of installing the signs is estimated at €15.000 this year.

The Vaasa Administrative Court requests a statement from the Kihniö Technical Board on the appeal that Maanrakennus Kalevi Viitaharju Oy has filed with the Vaasa Administrative Court against the decision of the Kihniö Technical Board of 29 January 2025, Section 9. The deadline for submitting a statement has been set until 20 May 2025.

This concerns the decision of the Kihniö Technical Committee of 29 January 2025, Section 9, which ordered the payment of the penalty imposed by the committee's decision of 6 March 2024 for the main obligation 2 of Section 21. The main obligation concerned the restoration of the quarry area to the condition specified in the joint permit by 20 May 2024. The party concerned has neglected to perform the obligations imposed by the Technical Committee and there is no valid reason for non-compliance. A proposal for a statement to be issued on the matter is attached.

Building inspection fee update

The building inspection fee has had to be completely structurally reformed because the Construction Act, which replaces the Land Use and Building Act, and the changes it requires to the building regulations and permit procedures came into force at the beginning of 2025.
The preparation of the tariff has been hampered by delays in the proposed amendments to the Construction Act, and the administrative regulations under the Construction Act also need to be updated.

The construction permit processing time guarantee, the carbon footprint calculation of a building, and the building permit in the form of a building information model will come into effect from 1 January 2026 based on the proposed amendment to the Construction Act, and these changes have not been taken into account in the tariff to be decided now. The above-mentioned changes will only be taken into account in the tariff when the new regulations come into force.

The Construction Act will eliminate building and operation permits and replace them with a single permit form, i.e. a building permit, and the notification procedure will also be abandoned. Section 42 of the Construction Act defines the requirements for a building permit. The permit obligations for construction projects of small buildings and structures will be significantly reduced. As a result, the revenue according to the tariff will decrease significantly. The operation of building supervision and the organization of authority activities are based on income from permit fees. The income should cover the expenses of building supervision

The construction permit consists of a permit consideration for placement and implementation, which can be applied for with a single construction permit, as has been the case with the construction permit under the Land Use and Building Act until now. According to the Construction Act, the permit applicant can in the future, if they so wish, apply for the permit in two parts, i.e. as separate placement and implementation permits. The additional workload in the official work caused by the separate permit has been taken into account in the fee payments. According to the Construction Act, the building supervision authority will in the future also decide on placement permits in planning need areas as part of the construction permit, the part of the work of which is taken into account in the fee.

In addition, new authority tasks will be added to projects requiring a building permit, such as random authority inspections, construction product lists attached to permit applications, and demolition material descriptions. The share of continuous monitoring of the built environment will also increase, as the prior permit procedure will no longer be required for all construction projects. With the new law, requests for advice have increased significantly in authority work. General authority advice must be provided free of charge. However, statements or other work requiring clarification will be subject to a fee in accordance with the tariff. It should be noted, however, that the authority's service does not include acting as a designer undertaking a construction project or as a supervisor of the quality of construction work.

Efforts have been made to harmonize the fees with neighboring municipalities. In addition, efforts have been made to determine the fees according to the estimated workload.

Permits issued under the current Land Use and Building Act are invoiced according to the current rates in force.

Attached is the 2025 tariff.

• Technical Director starts May 19, 2025
• Veterinary premises