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Judge overturns townships’ wind tower restrictions 

Credit:  www.sentinel-standard.com ~~

A judge struck down local ordinances that would have put restrictions on a $120 million wind energy project in central Michigan, clearing the way for work to begin.

Clinton County Circuit Judge Randy Tahvonen released a ruling Tuesday that strikes down ordinances passed by three townships.

Tahvonen ruled in favor of the Chicago-based developer, Forest Hill Energy-Fowler Farms LLC, which challenged ordinances approved by the boards in Bengal, Dallas and Essex townships.

“The court … finds that each township’s wind turbine ordinance is invalid, unenforceable, and therefore, void,” Tahvonen wrote.

The judge said the rules infringe on the county’s zoning powers.

“In short, the townships did not have the legal authority to enact and enforce the ordinances,” Tahvonen said.

Developers announced the proposed wind power project in 2008, and officials then reviewed and rewrote county zoning rules to accommodate it. The project calls for 39 wind turbines, which will be 427 feet tall at the top of the blade rotation.

The county’s rules permit towers no more than 450 feet tall, allow up to 45 decibels of noise as measured from an off-site home and require that towers be at least 1,600 feet or four times the tower’s height from any home, whichever is greater.

The Bengal Township ordinance would have capped the height at 400 feet, noise at 40 decibels at the nearest property line and a setback of 1,600 feet or four times the tower’s height from any property line.

The Associated Press left a message Tuesday for William Fahey, lawyer for Dallas and Essex townships, seeking comment and asking whether an appeal is planned.

Fahey said earlier this year that the Michigan Legislature granted townships broad powers to regulate conduct for the public health, safety and general welfare.

“Our constitution says the powers of townships shall be liberally construed,” Fahey said. “Unless there is some specific statute out there that takes these powers away, the townships continue to have the powers and can exercise them.”

Source:  www.sentinel-standard.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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