The petitions were signed by 68 residents of the town.

There is currently a site plan review application from the developer Global Winds Harvest, Inc. before the town planning board for a proposal to erect 27 wind turbines on a ridge west of the village on County Route 54 across from the Cherry Valley Central School.

It is a scaled back version of the original which called for almost as many more turbines to also be located on East Hill.

"To adopt a six-month moratorium on the development of wind turbine projects preserves the status quo for a reasonable timeframe while the Cherry Valley community develops and adopts land use rules and permitting structure and strategy to respond appropriately to our new and changing situation," Advocates spokesperson Lynn Marsh told the board. "Developers should not be making such far reaching land use choices for our community."

The request for a moratorium was supported by Bill Brosseau, Executive Director of the Cooperstown-based Otsego Land Trust, who said they are gravely concerned about the effects of the wind farm on the open space of the region.

"Otsego Land Trust supports a moratorium on the wind farm project until all the facts are considered thoroughly and a statewide sighting plan for wind towers is developed," he said.

Long-time town supervisor Robert Loucks said the board would take the petitions into consideration before he entered into a dialogue with the audience about the turbine project. The supervisor also took the time to address comments and concerns some had expressed about the board's role in the project.

"This is getting way too political for me. I'm not against everything you say and I'm not in favor of everything they say," Loucks said. "But if you're advocates for Cherry Valley, I'd like to see your 20-year plan."

He explained that the first letter the town board received from the developer about the project was in December 2000. "There were no secret meetings. This town board doesn't have a vote in the matter," he said.

The only voice the town board has is in regard to the "wind fund" being offered to the town by the developer in lieu of taxes. The town, he said, can negotiate for the best income or decide to opt out of the state tax exemption and let the state assess the towers and make them pay property tax.

So far, the town has turned down the company's offer of $2,500 per turbine per year, he said.

The supervisor said he had talked to town attorney Lynn Green and there was some uncertainty whether the proposal submitted to the town planning board by Global Winds Harvest would be affected by a moratorium. He also said that if the developer meets all the criteria, the town has little choice but to approve the proposal.

"It's in everyone's interest to slow this down," said Andy Minnig, a member of the Advocates and an outspoken opponent of the project.

The character and look of Cherry Valley offer a different and more sustainable future than wind energy, he said. "We have something far more valuable and we will potentially destroy it. What we have here is disappearing elsewhere, it's money in the bank."

"Everybody wants Cherry Valley to remain the same," Loucks said. "It's beautiful and no one wants it to change. I can appreciate that."

He told the crowd that if the town had zoning they could establish a district for towers and restrict them everywhere else, but he doubted that anyone would ever agree where that district would be.

These and other issues should be addressed by the town and its neighbors. "We have a lot of problems nobody wants to get involved in," he said.

Marsh said one positive thing that has come out of the wind turbine project is that it has brought together many people who have come to realize they have a responsibility to the community.

Loucks said he planned to ask three or four people to conduct a telephone survey of town residents to better gauge if there is public support for a the moratorium. "If I thought half the community was against the project we would put a 6-month moratorium in place," he said.

Marsh said afterwards that she believed it was a very rewarding meeting. "We've been working on communication and this was a good meeting," she said.

The town planning board will continue its review of the project when it meets again on Tuesday, August 20, at 7:30 p.m.