During a special committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday night, council for the municipality of the County of Antigonish unanimously passed a motion to update its municipal planning strategy and land use by-law amendments regarding wind turbine setbacks.
It is the second time the matter came before county council in a week. Last week, during a regular council meeting, members heard from the appellant, Jonathan MacKenzie, who spoke in part about the dangers of ice being thrown off the turbines, as well as representatives from Ever Wind, who are partnering with Membertou First Nation, in the development of the Upper Afton Wind Project.
Ever Wind applied to amend the Antigonish wind turbine land use by-law in July of 2025, and council hosted a public hearing that November. Council passed the amendments, but MacKenzie appealed the decision, and the appeal was adjourned to give the municipality the opportunity to revisit the previous decision .
Council voted against the motion to update the strategy and by-law at last week’s meeting before voting to reconsider the motion, which they did Tuesday night.
When asked about council’s decision to update the MPS and land-use bylaw, Warden Nicholas MacInnis said it came down to the arguments presented to them. After looking over the matter the last week, he said council felt the proposed amendments, which brings them in line with provincial regulations, were the appropriate decision .
MacInnis said there were a few policies within the approval but the main one was the setbacks from roads. He saud the concerns from those opposed to the amendments centered around safety, adding council takes public safety seriously, which is why they tabled the decision to look at it further.
