April 23, 2015
Iowa

Court sides with Grundy County in wind rezoning

By Jeff Reinitz | Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier | April 22, 2015 | wcfcourier.com

GRUNDY CENTER | The Iowa Court of Appeals has sided with Grundy County officials in a zoning dispute over proposed wind turbines.

MidAmerican Energy asked the county to rezone 1,200 acres of land in 2013 to allow for larger turbines.

After the county Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-1 against the change, the county Board of Supervisors approved the change from A-1 to A-2 agriculture in a 4-0 vote.

Resident Susan Miller took the county to district court claiming the government acted improperly because it didn’t undertake a study before deciding. She also alleged two county supervisors had conflicts of interest in the rezoning because one was part-owner of a motel that offered discounts to wind energy officials and another had relatives who had wind energy options or easements.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a district court ruling that found the arrangements didn’t present a conflict and the board wasn’t required to make any findings before changing the zoning.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/04/23/court-sides-with-grundy-county-in-wind-rezoning/