December 2, 2010
Michigan

Cass County township mulls ban on wind power

Norma Lerner, Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette, www.mlive.com 2 December 2010

MARCELLUS – A proposed ordinance to ban commercial wind-energy development in Volinia Township in northeastern Cass County could be adopted by the township board on Dec. 13.

Township Supervisor Gwenn Johnson said the township heard during the summer from a representative of wind-power company Ever Power of Pennsylvania and that the matter was sent to the township planning commission, which has since recommended that Volinia Township adopt the proposed ordinance.

Johnson said the planning commission based its decision, in part, on a survey of property owners that she said was conducted about 10 to 12 years ago. Respondents indicated wind mills would destroy the rustic beauty of the area and produce noise and unwanted light, she said.

Local farmer Brian McKenzie told the Cass County Board of Commissioners in November, however, that he was concerned about the proposed ban on wind-energy development. McKenzie said he has visited wind farms in Michigan and Indiana and found the noise to be low. He said Volinia Township, with its population of less than 1,200, is sparsely population enough to accommodate wind towers with little disruption.

McKenzie noted that there are power lines that run from Silver Creek Township in the northwestern part of the county to Marcellus Township that wind power developers could tie into.

No one attended an Oct. 5 public hearing held to get comment on the proposed ordinance, according to Johnson.

The township board is scheduled to consider adoption of the ordinance when it meet at 7:30 p.m. Dec.. 13 at the township hall on Goodenough Road in Marcellus.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/02/cass-county-township-mulls-ban-on-wind-power/