April 14, 2011
Michigan

Madison Township puts a hold on future wind turbines

By John Mulcahy, Daily Telegram, www.lenconnect.com 13 April 2011By John Mulcahy, Daily Telegram, www.lenconnect.com 13 April 2011

The Madison Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to impose a six-month moratorium on the construction of any wind turbines in the township.

The moratorium includes components of wind power generation, such as bases for towers or transformers.

The goal of the moratorium is to give the township time to develop a zoning ordinance to regulate wind turbines.

So far, the township has not been approached about the placement of any commercial wind turbines, township clerk Arnold Harper said.

However, three companies are looking at building wind turbines in Riga, Ogden, Palmyra and Fairfield townships, sparking controversy about the desirability of such projects.

“At least we can control them if we have an ordinance,” Harper said. “Hopefully, in
six months we can have an ordinance put together.”

The ordinance would cover issues such as set-back distances from roads and height of towers, but also could include provisions such as bonds to guarantee that such towers would be removed if they are no longer being used, Harper said.

Township attorney Fred Lucas suggested the township join with other communities facing the issue to hire an expert in wind energy generation to help write the ordinance.

However, after the meeting, Harper said he would rather wait and see what kind of ordinances are developed in some of the other townships.

The township planning commission will have the job of developing the ordinance.

In March, Ogden Township also passed a six month moratorium on wind turbine construction.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/14/madison-township-puts-a-hold-on-future-wind-turbines/