CHERRY VALLEY - The Cherry Valley planning board has taken the wind out of Reunion Power's sails.

The board unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday night for an 18-month moratorium on all major development in the town. If approved by the town board, the moratorium will effectively put Reunion Power's East Hill wind farm plan on hold.

Reunion has not yet submitted a site plan application for the wind farm which may have as many as 24 turbines, but was expected to do so soon. Reunion's project manager David Little said recently that they were still on track to have the facility operational by the end of 2007.

Planning board chairman Jeffrey Wait said Wednesday morning the decision surprised everybody.

"We are trying to get our house in order before things get out of hand," he said.

Wait said the recommendation must be approved by the town board before the moratorium would go into effect.

The moratorium, he said, would halt all major development while the town works to complete its comprehensive plan. Wait expects it will take another six months to finish the plan. The remaining 12 months would be devoted to a review of the town's current land use regulations and putting in place ordinances which would allow the town to achieve the goals set forth in the plan.

"The Planning Board has made a bold decision on a controversial topic - land use regulation. It has made a responsible commitment to the welfare of our community by transforming itself into a pro-active institution, truly a planning board," said Andy Minnig, one of the founding members of the Advocates for Cherry Valley, which opposes the turbines.

"The Advocates for Cherry Valley welcome the opportunity to participate in a dialogue that will find a way to reconcile the inevitability of development with the unique history and beauty of our town. The conflict over the proposed turbine farm on East Hill stems from a failure to understand that there must be a proper balance between individual rights and the rights of a community as a whole. The people of East Hill have understood this from the beginning. That is why they have fought so hard," he said.

Town supervisor Tom Garretson said Wednesday morning that he and Jeff Wait had been tossing the idea back and forth for the last week.

"I always told him that if he felt pressured in any way, we could slow things down," he said. "Ironically, I approached him. I told him I had too much on my plate and needed to clean up some things before we deal with Reunion. This is something we're doing for Jeff and his board; for me and my board and for the whole town."

Garreston said he is in the process of putting together a timeline to support the need for an 18-month moratorium.

Basically, it will show what has been completed with the comprehensive plan and when we anticipate completing the other steps in the process, he said.

The supervisors said they will be looking at developing local land use regulations to address the provisions of the comprehensive plan.

"Things are going to be tightened up," he said.

He said he feels "very confident" the town board will unanimously approve the moratorium.

Garretson said he found last weekend's bus trip to the Fenner wind farm to be very interesting, but that comparing it to Cherry Valley's East Hill was not comparing apples to apples.

He also said after seeing the facility, he was concerned about setbacks from residences. There were a few installations that he said he would not have allowed because of their proximity to homes.

"We're on the right track. This gives us a nice starting point to get done what needs to be done," he said.

David Little of Reunion Power could not be reached for comment.