Ann Arbor Times

On Wednesday, the Michigan House of Representatives approved House Bills 4027 and 4028. These bills aim to return zoning decision authority for renewable energy sites to local governments. Representative Woolford, who sponsored the plan, commented on its passage.

"The state should never have taken zoning authority over renewable energy projects away from our local governments," Woolford stated. "Local governing officials are the ones most intimately familiar with the needs of their respective communities. They are the most capable of balancing both respect for property rights and concerns about the wasteful use of land and resources for solar and wind farms."

Woolford criticized previous actions by a Democrat-led government that removed local zoning authority due to lobbying from the renewable energy industry. He explained his commitment to restoring this control: "One of the first things I did upon coming to Lansing was add my name to the list of sponsors for this legislation to restore local control."

He further expressed concerns about state management in recent times: "We have already seen in the short time during which zoning authority over renewable energy sites has been taken from local governments how the state has mishandled this authority." According to Woolford, these decisions ignored community concerns where local officials could make better choices.

"Distant, administrative bureaucrats who do not understand the needs and concerns of small local communities are always going to inevitably make poor decisions," he said. Woolford concluded that returning control is a crucial step towards rectifying past mistakes made by granting such power at a higher level.