People's rights Lucerne will vote on accelerated approval of wind farms

In the canton of Lucerne, the municipalities where wind farms are planned should continue to be responsible for their approval. The SVP has submitted a referendum against the amended Planning and Building Act, which now provides for a cantonal planning approval procedure.

The SVP submitted 3,239 signatures to the state chancellery in Lucerne on Wednesday afternoon, as party secretary Remo Schranz said on request. In the canton of Lucerne, 3000 valid signatures are required for a referendum to be held.

The SVP criticizes the provisions passed by the cantonal council for severely restricting the powers of the municipalities and their voters. Municipal autonomy is being undermined.

The Lucerne cantonal council and, with the exception of the SVP, all cantonal council parties want large wind power plants to be built more quickly in the canton of Lucerne. In future, the canton alone should therefore be responsible for the planning approval procedure.

This means that there should no longer be a decision by local voters. Individual interests in the municipalities would therefore no longer be able to delay or prevent a power plant project of public interest, the system change was explained. Cantonal procedures have also proven their worth in road and hydraulic engineering.

According to the SVP, it is not against faster approval procedures. However, the party explained in its referendum documents that the administration could play its part in this. Furthermore, it is usually not the voters who delay projects, but the environmental associations.

For the SVP, a cantonal planning approval procedure is also out of place for large wind farms because they could contribute little to energy security. Civil rights and municipal autonomy should not be "sacrificed on the altar of an ideology", the party explained.