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Residents deliver 850-signature petition urging larger wind-turbine setbacks and wildlife buffers in Des Moines County
Summary
Speakers delivered an 850-signature petition asking the county to require larger setbacks from homes and property lines, cap turbine height and add buffers for eagles and bats; petitioners presented heat maps showing signatures across the county and urged safety and wildlife protections.
During the public-input period of the Nov. 12 meeting, residents submitted a petition they said contained 850 total signatures asking the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors to strengthen setback and wildlife protections in the county’s proposed wind-turbine ordinance.
Brad Totes of Pleasant Grove explained the petition included both signatures gathered electronically and by hand and that the group had produced heat maps showing where signatories live. The petitioners asked for larger setbacks from residences and property lines, a maximum turbine height included in prior drafts and specific wildlife buffers, including a 5-mile buffer from eagle nests and a 3-mile buffer from known bat locations. A petitioner said the draft ordinance’s setbacks were “kinda low” compared with other counties that recently adopted standards and that the petition reflects broader countywide concern.
Don Rolfs and other canvassers described face-to-face outreach across Minneapolis, Pleasant Grove, Yarmouth and parts of Burlington; they said many residents voiced safety and wildlife concerns when petitioners went door to door.
Board members acknowledged receipt of the petition and the heat maps and noted public interest varies across the county. The board did not take formal action on the petition at the meeting; it was submitted for the record and will inform future discussion on county land-use rules.
What the petition seeks (as stated by petitioners): larger setbacks from residences and property lines, a maximum turbine height noted as 650 feet (petitioners said the draft was updated to 650 the day before), and wildlife buffers including a 5-mile buffer from eagle nests and a 3-mile buffer from bat locations. The petition text referenced a numeric setback written in the transcript as “32 80 feet”; that phrasing was unclear on its face and was recorded here as stated.
