A proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds faces one more hurdle before it can be approved by the city. After being approved unanimously by both the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission, the turbine is now before City Council.

A proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds faces one more hurdle before it can be approved by the city. After being approved unanimously by both the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission, the turbine is now before City Council.

Councilmen Matt Castelli and Jim Shepherd expect council to discuss the matter at their 7:30 meeting tonight but not vote on it. They want to make sure all questions are answered before putting the city's final stamp of approval on the matter.

Castelli also said that, even if approved, the turbine would not be built for a while. Because the fair board started doing a one-year wind study in June, the turbine could not go up until next summer at the earliest.

The fair board must also raise $1.2 million to start construction. They optimistically expect to reach that total in summer of 2010. Since the variance granted for the turbine only lasts a year, the city will probably have to go through the whole approval process again next year.

Web link: http://blog.cleveland.com/newssun/2008/10/middlebu...