December 10, 2010
Illinois

Golden approves restrictions on wind energy

By MATT HOPF, Herald-Whig Staff Writer, www.whig.com 10 December 2010

GOLDEN, Ill. – Golden Village Trustees approved permanent restrictions on wind energy development within its limits and 1.5 miles around the community.

Trustees voted 3-2 Wednesday night, about a week after officials hosted a public hearing on wind energy. A temporary moratorium was approved last month in preparation for permanent restrictions.

Voting in favor of the restrictions were trustees Craig Marchand, Rick Walker and Donald Smith. Trustees Merlin Flesner and Jean Lord voted against enacting the restrictions, and trustee Delbert Flesner abstained from voting.

During last week’s public hearing, village officials said trustees would review the information at Wednesday’s meeting and vote on permanent restrictions at their January meeting. However, a motion was made and seconded to approve the restrictions, which required a vote by trustees.

Officials are basing their right to regulate wind development within 1.5 miles of village limits on an informal opinion from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office that states it does not need to have zoning to regulate wind energy development. It was originally thought that Golden would have to enact zoning laws similar to those in Clayton and Camp Point.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/10/golden-approves-restrictions-on-wind-energy/