Residents urge supervisors to halt large-scale wind and solar approvals, demand voter review of Resolution 17-2025

Public commenters pressed the Navajo County Board of Supervisors to slow or stop approvals of industrial-scale wind and solar projects and to place a countywide vote on Resolution 17-2025.

At the July meeting, Laura Wren told the board, “Supervisors, stop acting like this land belongs to you and foreign corporations,” saying turbines will “slice through our horizon” and cause habitat loss and property‑value declines. Michael Pitts, speaking for the White Mountain Association of Realtors, said residents were not part of early planning for projects such as Lava Run and Black Ridge and urged a complete, credible environmental review and enforceable mitigation guarantees.

Brent Meyer, a resident who said more than 3,000 people signed a petition, asked where the board derives legal authority to approve such projects under the Arizona Revised Statutes and requested that current approvals be halted until the legal questions are answered. Belinda Quaykshall, who reported two citizen initiative petitions aimed at restricting large-scale renewable projects, said county elections staff and the deputy county attorney imposed a 6,076‑signature requirement that prevented the measures from reaching the ballot; she said volunteers collected more than 3,100 signatures in three weeks.

Several speakers also emphasized water and landscape concerns. Donna Wozchak of Pinetop Lakeside asked the board to add Resolution 17-2025 to a future agenda for transparent public discussion, warning that installing 700‑foot turbines could strain local wells and aquifers. “The 700‑foot turbine … is over an eighth of a mile tall,” she said, raising questions about concrete, water use and nearby well declines.

Board members and staff offered procedural clarifications but did not rescind approvals. County staff explained that signature thresholds for initiatives come from state statute and the constitution and that the county followed state filing procedures; one staff member summarized the threshold as set by statute and constitution. Supervisor Whiting disputed reports that he had announced a nuclear conversion at Cholla and said public records and public outreach materials were available on the county’s information center.

No formal action to pause approvals or to place a measure on the ballot was taken during the meeting. Petitioners and multiple residents requested that staff post clearer information about the legal basis for approvals and that the board consider an agenda item to allow public hearings specifically on Resolution 17-2025.