Resident asks Des Moines County supervisors for six‑week moratorium on wind, solar and battery permits

During the public‑input portion of the meeting, a resident asked the board to place a six‑week moratorium on wind, solar and battery permit applications so supervisors and regional partners could hold a work session and make ordinance changes.

The commenter stated: “A discussion and vote to place a 6 week moratorium on wind, solar, and battery permit applications in order to hold a work session and discuss currently identified and acknowledged opportunities for specific improvements in our ordinance.” The speaker also asked why the request had not been added to the meeting agenda.

Supervisors responded that the county’s current ordinance already requires mitigation plans and allows for mitigation measures that are not exhaustively listed, and that new technologies (for example, eagle detection systems) could be considered as mitigation if proposed during preliminary review and public hearing. County staff and regional planners, including county conservation and Southeast Iowa regional planning staff, will review any submitted mitigation plans and provide input to supervisors before consent‑to‑proceed votes.

Supervisors said a consent‑to‑proceed decision is unlikely to be decided the same day as a public hearing because individual advisory boards and agencies will need time to meet and digest public‑hearing information. Board members estimated the follow‑up period could take weeks to a month depending on the amount of information and the schedules of the individual boards.

What’s next: a public information event (a “wind 101” session) was scheduled at the local library the evening of the meeting; conservation staff said it will engage with applicants and the public and that the preliminary review and mitigation plans will be available for supervisors to review before any consent decisions.