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Grassroots group to hold wind ordinance town hall April 19

Wind turbines in Poweshiek County, Iowa. -Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

Telegraph note: Since publication, the location of this event has changed to Union Middle School in Dysart. The article reflects the change accordingly.

A group of Tama County residents have begun organizing efforts to explore the possibility of lobbying the Tama County Zoning Board as well as the board of supervisors to update and revise the county’s ordinance regarding construction of wind energy projects.

The group will hold a town hall-style citizen-led event on Tuesday, April 19, beginning at 7 p.m. at Union Middle School in Dysart (505 W Street) in order to facilitate community discussion surrounding proposing changes to the current wind energy ordinance.

This free, public event is sponsored by the grassroots citizen-led group Tama County Against Turbines that began in response to the proposed Winding Stairs Wind project currently in development in the county by Apex Clean Energy.

Possible changes to be discussed during the town hall include advocating for a new land use ordinance similar to Benton County’s that keeps valuable farm land in production or changing parts of the current ordinance to better reflect the increased prevalence and size of the turbines today and their effects on the environment.

The current Tama County Zoning Ordinance for wind turbines was created in 1998 and has remained unchanged since then. The group argues that advancement in turbine size and political incentives have led to an increase in the amount of turbines and their impact on Tama County land use.

For more information contact event organizer Chris Behrens at 319-231-7827 or email chris_behrens@hotmail.com.