The mayor of the township abutting Centre Wellington and the wind farms proposed for Belwood has written to Premier Dalton McGuinty and asked for equal treatment for wind farms in his jurisdiction.
Mayor Allen Taylor said in his letter that his municipality is close to a major wind farm proposal in Melancthon Township, and now his municipality is being affected by one proposed for around Belwood in Centre Wellington Township.
Taylor explained in 2008 and 2009, East Garafraxa council took steps to “provide opportunities to develop renewable energy systems that are compatible with the existing characteristics of the township through responsible siting, construction and operation that balances environmental, social and economic benefits with any potential land use.”
But, he said, those official plan amendments were never approved because the province passed the Green Energy Act, and took over the local land use planning powers for itself.
Taylor said council noted with interest that Minister of Energy Brad Duguid recently commented on proposed offshore wind turbines “that the proposed distance to the shoreline be a minimum of five kilometres.”
Taylor told McGuinty, “Council would support the same setback to the proposed offshore turbines for turbines on shore, and suggest that minister Duguid consider the concerns of more than the ‘people who were concerned that if they go to the beach they could be looking up at a huge wind turbine.’
“Perhaps he should talk to some of the residents who continue to report health implications and who live daily with the issues of the turbines and related transformers,” Taylor wrote.
In addition to the residents’ loss of property values, the municipality suffers loss of property values, as evidenced through recent Assessment Review Board decision to reduce assessment of property adjacent to transformer stations related to the wind farms by 50 per cent.”
Taylor concluded in his appeal to the premier, “Some of these people have lived their entire lives on these properties and now face moving to survive. The province should listen to their concerns of sleep disturbance, dizziness, headaches, and host of other symptoms and study the health implications and financial implications to the residents and municipalities.”
