April 23, 2024
At a regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the County of Ottawa, Michigan, held at the Fillmore Street Complex in the Township of Olive, Michigan on the 23rd day of April, 2024 at 6:30 PM local time.
PRESENT: Gretchen Cosby, Douglas Zylstra, Allison Miedema, Lucy Ebel, Roger Belknap, Joe Moss, Roger Bergman, Kendra Wenzel, Rebekah Curran, and Sylvia Rhodea. ABSENT: Commissioners: Jacob Bonnema.
It was moved by Commissioner Belknap and supported by Commissioner Wenzel that the following Resolution be adopted:
WHEREAS, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners strongly supports preserving local control of zoning; and
WHEREAS, in October 2023, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the state’s plan to assume control of wind and solar zoning; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 233 of 2023 strips away zoning powers from local officials for large scale utility projects and places them into the control of the state centralized Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC); and
WHEREAS, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners remains committed to preserving local control and opposing state centralization of zoning; and
WHEREAS, by granting the Michigan Public Service Commission this authority, local control is circumvented, disenfranchising local communities; and
WHEREAS, Citizens for Local Choice is leading a ballot initiative to amend Public Act 233 of 2023 to restore local control of zoning for these large scale utility projects; and
WHEREAS, a poll commissioned by the Michigan Townships Association found more than 87% of Michigan citizens agree that permitting for utility-scale renewable energy should remain at the local level. This includes 85% of Democrats, 91% of Republicans, and 84% of independents supporting local control; and
WHEREAS, if not stopped, local control of zoning will be stripped away when Public Act 233 goes into effect in November 2024.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Ottawa County continues to oppose the pre-emption of local control in solar and wind siting and zoning; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Ottawa County continues to oppose state mandates for large scale utility projects; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Ottawa County supports Citizens for Local Choice’s efforts to protect local control and prevent the state centralization of massive energy projects; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be forwarded to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, all Ottawa County legislators, and the other 82 counties in the State of Michigan.
YEAS: Roger Belknap, Rebekah Curran, Gretchen Cosby, Sylvia Rhodea, Kendra Wenzel, Allison Miedema, Lucy Ebel, Joe Moss and Roger Bergman.
NAYS: Douglas Zylstra.
ABSTENTIONS: None.