Mackinaw City Planning Commission Looks at Wind Turbine Regulations

The Mackinaw City Village Planning Commission plans to create regulations for residential and small business wind turbines within the city. The village has regulations for large commercial turbines, which were drafted in 2001, but not for smaller turbines that can be erected at a residence or business.

Village Manager Jeff Lawson said the discussion on creating small turbine regulations came about because several residents and business owners have shown interest in erecting such turbines to harness wind energy.

"The item needs to be addressed. There's been public places around asking about wind turbines. It's just something that's been on a to-do list," he said. "If there's a local resident who wants do that, we need to have some standards to address it."

Mr. Lawson said he plans to contact other municipalities in the state, including St. Ignace, which published a draft of its wind energy facility ordinance in the Thursday, June 18, edition of The St. Ignace News, with small wind turbine regulations to better guide creating regulations for Mackinaw City.

"It looks like they've done a lot of the homework. We'll have to look at some of their details and what they have," he said about the recently published St. Ignace ordinance. "We'll look at what they did and talk to our attorney to see what works for us."

The commission will hold a special meeting Thursday, July 9, to review a use permit for a medical office. The meeting will be at the village hall at 7 p.m.