Latest news with #communitybenefits
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arlington Heights board meets as Bears eye suburban stadium site again
The Brief The Arlington Heights Village Board held its first meeting since news of the Bears' renewed suburban focus. Mayor Jim Tinaglia said the village is waiting on the team's next steps and promised a transparent public process. A resident urged trustees to negotiate strong community benefits if the project moves forward. CHICAGO - As the Chicago Bears shift their attention away from the lakefront and back to Arlington Heights, there's new buzz—and new questions—around the project. What we know On Monday, the Village of Arlington Heights Board of Trustees held its first meeting since the news broke. Mayor Jim Tinaglia, during the meeting, said they are still waiting on the Bears organization for next steps, but as soon as they have anything to share with the public, they will. The Chicago Bears already own a plot of land where the former Arlington Park racecourse was once housed, and last week, team officials cited 'significant progress' with local leaders in the northwest suburb. Last year, the team unveiled renderings for a proposed lakefront stadium, but it seems plans to remain in the city are on the back burner. What they're saying The Bears stadium plans were not on Monday's agenda but still drew attention during public comment. One resident who addressed the trustees believes the village should take advantage of the opportunity and improve life for residents. "We're in the driver's seat as a village right now. For example, this is an opportunity to negotiate even more funds for education, for desperately needed available and affordable housing, for infrastructure investment, for public works, for public health, and for safe streets—all in exchange for the massive property tax subsidies that will be given to the Bears later on," said Keith Moens, who lives in Arlington Heights. Tinaglia, who was elected as mayor in April and took office in early May, made clear that if and when the Bears commit to coming to Arlington Heights, the community will have a voice. "There will be a process that is going to begin, and there will be an enormous amount of opportunity for every resident, every business owner, to become educated and participate in all the dialogue that's going to happen and this entire board, believe me when I tell you, we'll all have something to say," Tinaglia said. What's next Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said last week in a statement that the city's doors are still open. Now—the waiting game continues. When will the Chicago Bears make their next move and what will it be? Arlington Heights residents and business owners hope to have those answers soon. The Source FOX 32's Kasey Chronis reported on this story.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Wind farm neighbour payments offered to ease community tension
Wind farm developers are offering multi-million-dollar payments to neighbours of their projects in a bid to ease tensions over who benefits. The gap between those who make money from hosting the turbines and those who do not has divided communities and fuelled opposition. But as Australia's 2030 renewable energy targets inspire a wave of controversial regional projects, companies like Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest's Windlab are for the first time exploring directly paying those who live nearby, but do not host, turbines. Advocates say it will reduce the divide between the "haves and have-nots," but others say there is "a long way to go" to address the challenge of coexistence properly. About 450 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, the small town of Wandoan is watching closely as the proposed 1.4-gigawatt Bungaban Wind Farm on its outskirts awaits federal government approval. Windlab, which is majority-owned by Nicola and Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's Squadron Energy, estimates the $3.9 billion project could power the equivalent of 860,000 homes. The company is offering neighbours an initial $10,000-$40,000 upon signing, $30,000-$150,000 at construction start, and annual payments of $10,000-$75,000 for up to 35 years, based on proximity to the planned 204 turbines. By comparison, the Clean Energy Council (CEC), which advocates for renewable energy, estimates the average landholder hosting turbines can earn about $40,000 per turbine annually. Windlab's senior community manager Elliot Willemsen-Bell said the payments would not restrict the recipients' right to voice concerns or oppose the project. "[We only ask] if landholders have a concern … they give us a reasonable chance to fix the problem before they escalate it, whether it be through formal complaints or other means," he said. It is a first for the company, but Mr Willemsen-Bell did not say if the model would expand to other sites. "It's got to be specific to the area and specific to that community and those landholders," he said. Queensland Renewable Energy Council chief executive Katie-Anne Mulder said the approach was particularly important in higher-density population areas. About 150km west of Wandoan, the Maranoa region's very first large-scale renewables project is also exploring neighbour payments while it awaits federal approval. WestWind Energy is offering neighbours of its Bottle Tree Energy Park near Roma between $1,000 and $5,000 per year, with no non-disclosure agreements or restrictions on objections. The company's head of development Shane Quinnell said the benefits needed to be shared more broadly. "It's a reality that if we're going to develop and build wind farms, we need to acknowledge there is this visual impact on the landscape and that people do feel differently," he said. Payments to non-hosts have evolved since the nation's first wind farm was built in Salmon Beach, Western Australia, in 1987. By 2001, projects such as Codrington Wind Farm in Victoria were offering "community benefit funds," a pool of money available for not-for-profit groups to support events and facilities. Among the first to propose direct payments to neighbours was TrustPower Australia, which in 2013 offered $2,000 per year to properties within 2km of the Palmer Wind Farm in South Australia though the payments were conditional. "If they're happy to support the wind farm or not object to it and not to do things on their land to interfere then we're happy to pay them," chief executive Rodney Ahern said at the time. After decades of revisions, the project was approved in February 2025. The CEC and lobby group Farmers for Climate Action estimate that over the next 25 years, large-scale wind and solar projects will pay landholders between $7.7 billion and $9.7 billion, compared to contributions to regional communities and councils of about $1.9 billion. According to the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, which handles complaints about the industry, communities are pushing for a bigger share — one that recognises the impact on amenity, community engagement, natural environment, noise and economic loss they experience. CEC spokesperson Chris O'Keefe said most companies had adopted voluntary standards for community engagement and compensation. "The more they do that, the more success we'll have with this transition," he said. While the standards are voluntary across most local and state governments, Queensland has moved to make them more binding, but stopped short of mandating neighbour payments. Introduced in May, the legislation requires major renewable programs to enter into binding community benefit agreements, which can include neighbour payments, with councils before they can lodge a development application. It does not set out how much those payments should be. Queensland farmer lobby group AgForce welcomed the legislation, but chief executive Michael Guerin said more needed to be done to address concerns around noise, setback distances and compensation for neighbours. "There's a long way to go [and] further reform is required that recognises that coexistence has impacts on all of community."
