Dear Editor:
I was the subject of a recent letter by a Mr. Doug Jackson, and I feel a response is in order.
I am one of the leaders of the Citizens for Local Choice committee which is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative which would restore local zoning regulation for wind, solar and utility scale battery energy storage projects. And I am very proud to report that our effort now enjoys the support of Michigan Farm Bureau, the Michigan Townships Association (MTA), the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
Our team of well-respected supporters should make it abundantly clear that Citizens for Local Choice is obviously NOT anti-farm and that our effort to restore local zoning control of large-scale wind and solar projects is clearly in the mainstream. We enjoy the support of the majority of township and county officials across the state and these officials understand that this new law does in fact strip final siting decisions from our township and county zoning boards and places them into the lap of three unelected bureaucrats in Lansing, all appointees of the governor and not directly accountable to the electorate.
Polling on the issue shows that 92% of Michigan Republicans and 85% of Michigan Democrats agree with us. This is a bi-partisan effort and I am pleased to work on the behalf of thoughtful people from both the left and right.
Jackson claims we are making “utterly false” arguments that the law strips local control of renewable energy projects. But he concedes in his own letter that renewable energy corporations now can simply appeal to the MPSC if the developer doesn’t like the local officials’ regulations. What this means is that townships or counties can receive and review wind, solar and battery projects applications, but the only answer they can give is YES or the MPSC intervenes. That is not local control. That is pre-emption.
And let’s be direct: if townships and counties can still regulate these projects, why was the law even necessary? And why do MTA and MAC support the repeal? It is simple: local zoning control of any land use means the local planning authority can determine the district, the height, the scale, the screening and/or the noise limits for any land use. Under this new law, local officials can no longer determine those things. The siting standards are now universal and administered from Lansing.
And what of Jackson’s attempt to paint our effort as some fossil-fuel driven enterprise? My answer may surprise you. This fight is in fact awash in fossil fuel money, but 100% of it is on the side of the renewable energy industry and the environmental groups opposing us.
Sierra Club, a strong proponent of the law we are seeking to repeal, took $26 million from Chesapeake Gas. APEX Clean Energy, also strong supporters of this legislation, is owned by ARES Management whose billionaire CEO Antony Ressler has been branded by the environmental movement as the “Fracketeer” for his massive investments in gas extraction and power generation.
And one must ask why would fossil fuel companies fight renewable energy development anyway? Most of the wind and solar projects in the world are owned and operated by fossil fuel companies including Invenergy, Detroit Edison, NextEra Energy, BP and Shell Oil, which, curiously, is currently suing a Michigan township for opposition to one of their solar projects.
And finally, what about farmer’s private property rights? In zoned communities, land use decisions are a community process. The community gets to work together to establish regulations for all land uses, from homes to gas stations to landfills.
Under this new law, a large-parcel-owning-neighbor can lease his or her land to a power company and ultimately avoid local regulations for a wind or solar project. Meanwhile, the rest of the community may very well need local zoning approval for a simple garage or garden shed.
If our goal is to grant universal and unlimited private property rights, then we should repeal the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act instead of granting the privileged ability for just three technologies-wind, solar and batteries-to evade local regulation.
There are places for wind, solar and batteries and most people in our coalition believe these projects (particularly solar) belong on brownfields, industrial districts or MDOT rights-of-way rather than on prime agricultural land or, in the Upper Peninsula, forest ground.
The bottom line is that PA233 has shredded nearly every wind and solar ordinance in the state of Michigan and replaced it with a highly permissive set of regulations administered from Lansing. We think this is wrong.
And that is why we are working statewide to repeal this legislation. For more information, check out our website at www.micitizenschoice.org and request a petition to sign or to circulate.
Kevon Martis
Committee Member, Citizens for Local Choice
Lenawee County Commissioner
Certified Zoning Administrator
