Government

West Lafayette will not adopt a ban on large wind turbines going into effect in Tippecanoe County. The city council voted against the ordinance this week.

The ordinance prevents turbines over 140 feet in the county, and county commissioners say it’s to keep the land free for economic development. They have repeatedly said the ban isn’t a statement against renewable energy or environmentally-friendly technology.

But City Council President Peter Bunder disagrees.

“It’s also about environmental energy. And it’s - it’d be difficult to separate those,” Bunder says.

A proposed South Bend clinic that performs abortions has the go-ahead to finally open after a federal judge ordered the state to clear a path.

The Montgomery County Area Plan Commission has passed the county’s contentious zoning ordinance, following another night of debate Wednesday.

The Plan Commission had earlier tried to send county commissioners the ordinance without a recommendation, but it was sent back to the Plan Commission following a re-reading of state statute which shows such a move is illegal for a first-time zoning ordinance.

Electric scooters will make a return to Greater Lafayette come late June, but with greater restrictions on where they can be parked and driven, as well as how many there will be.

Scooter companies Spin and Gotcha -- based in San Francisco and South Carolina -- have been approved to bring in their own scooters in the wake of Bird scooters flying the coop. City leaders and many citizens complained Bird had flooded the market late last year and West Lafayette economic development aide Julia Zuchkov says the city doesn’t want to be overwhelmed again.