§ 56-618. Design and installation.

(a)

Design safety certification.

(1)

WECSs shall conform to applicable industry standards, including those of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Applicants shall submit certificates of design compliance that equipment manufacturers have obtained from Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Germanischer Lloyd Wind Energic (GL), or an equivalent third party.

(2)

Following the granting of siting approval under this chapter, a professional engineer shall certify, as part of the building permit application, that the foundation and tower design of the WECS is within accepted professional standards, given local soil and climate conditions.

(b)

Controls and brakes. All WECS shall be equipped with a redundant braking system. This includes both aerodynamic overspeed controls (including variable pitch, tip, and other similar systems) and mechanical brakes. Mechanical brakes shall be operated in a fail-safe mode. Stall regulation shall not be considered a sufficient braking system for overspeed protection.

(c)

Electrical components. All electrical components of the WECS shall conform to applicable local, state, and national codes, and relevant national and international standards (e.g., ANSI and international electrical commission). Utility lines connecting the towers, substations, etc., shall be placed underground where practical.

(d)

Color. Towers and blades shall be painted a nonreflective, unobtrusive color that mitigates the visual impact of the structure. No advertisement shall be visible on the blades or tower.

(e)

Compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration. The applicant for the WECS shall comply with all applicable Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.

(f)

Warnings.

(1)

A reasonable visible warning sign concerning voltage must be placed at the base of all pad-mounted transformers and substations.

(2)

Visible, reflective, colored objects, such as flags, reflectors, or tape shall be placed on the anchor points of guy wires and along the guy wires up to a height of 15 feet from the ground.

(3)

Upon completion of the construction of an approved WECS project, a reasonable visible sign, to warn people to not approach a turbine while operating must be placed at the entrance of each access road.

(4)

Upon completion of the construction of an approved WECS project, a sign that provides emergency contact information shall be posted on or near the operations and maintenance building.

(5)

The signs in subparagraphs (f)(3) and (4) above shall be made with letters and numbers at least three inches in height and shall include the 911 address and an emergency phone number of the operator which shall be answered 24 hours a day by a live operator. A non-emergency phone number for the operator shall also be displayed. These phone numbers shall remain active with all calls being voice recorded for verification purposes and with comments and complaints logged and reported to the Livingston County Zoning Administrator on a monthly basis. The recorded calls shall be maintained for at least 12 months.

(g)

Climb prevention. All WECS towers must be externally unclimbable by design or protected by anti-climbing devices such as:

(1)

Fences with locking portals at least six feet high; or

(2)

Anti-climbing devices 12 feet vertically from the base of the WECS tower.

(h)

Setbacks.

(1)

All WECS towers shall be set back six times the height of the tower or 3,250 feet, whichever is greater, from any primary structure. The distance for the above setback shall be measured from the edge of the primary structure foundation closest to the WECS tower, to the center of the WECS tower foundation. The owner of the primary structure may waive these setback requirements but in no case shall a WECS tower be located closer to a primary structure than 1.10 times the WECS tower height..

(2)

All WECS towers shall be set back a distance of at least 1.10 times the WECS tower height from public roads, third party transmission lines, and communication towers. The county may waive this setback requirement.

(3)

All WECS towers shall be set back a distance of at least 1,640 feet from adjacent property lines, as measured from the closest edge of the tower structure. The affected adjacent property owner may waive this setback requirement.

(4)

An incorporated village or municipality must approve of the location of any tower to be located within 1.5 miles of the corporate limits of such incorporated village or municipality.

(5)

No part of a WECS tower or foundation shall encroach on a public or private sewage disposal (septic) system.

(6)

All WECS substations shall be set back 1,600 feet from the property line of any property containing a primary structure.

(7)

Setbacks from WECS towers for aviation-related activities shall be determined in accordance with minimum dimensional standards set forth in Title 92: Transportation, Chapter I: Department of Transportation, Subchapter b: Aeronautics Part 14 Aviation Safety. The owner of an airstrip may waive this setback requirement.

(8)

All WECS towers shall be one mile and a half from any school property line. The affected school district may waive this setback requirement.

(9)

Above ground transmission facilities and transmissions poles shall be set back 150 feet from any portion of the edge of the primary structure, The affected adjacent property owner may waive this setback requirement.

(i)

Compliance with additional regulations and severability clause. Nothing in this article is intended to preempt other applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Whenever possible, each provision of this article shall be interpreted so that it is valid under applicable law. If any provision of this article is determined to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be reformed only to the extent necessary to make the provision legal and enforceable with all remaining provisions continuing in full force and effect.

(j)

Use of public roads.

(1)

An applicant, owner, or operator proposing to use any county, township or village road, for the purpose of transporting and installation of WECS or substation parts and/or equipment for construction, operation, or maintenance of the WECS or substations, shall:

a.

Identify all such public roads; and

b.

Obtain applicable weight and size permits from relevant government agencies prior to construction.

(2)

To the extent an applicant, owner, or operator must obtain a weight or size permit from the county, or village, township, state, the applicant, owner, or operator shall:

a.

Conduct a preconstruction baseline survey to determine existing road conditions for assessing potential future damage;

b.

Provide financial assurance, in a reasonable amount agreed to by the relevant parties, for the purpose of repairing any damage to public roads caused by constructing, operating or maintaining the WECS prior to the issuance of building permits. The terms of the financial assurance shall contain a provision that the financial assurance may not be canceled or allowed to expire until at least 60 days written notice has been given to the applicable party(ies), i.e, county, or a village, or a township or the state. If replacement financial assurance is not provided within seven days thereof, then the county, village, township or state have the absolute right to draw upon the financial assurance until such financial assurance is replaced.

c.

Provide the county zoning administrator with signed copy of any agreements pertaining to the use of public roads prior to the issuance of building permits.

(k)

Height. The permitted maximum height of a WECS shall be 500 feet.

(1)

State and federal regulations may require a lesser height.

(2)

A WECS and transmissions poles shall be constructed with a tubular tower or monopole structure, not a lattice tower.

(l)

Lighting. A lighting plan for each WECS and WECS substation shall be approved by the zoning board of appeals. Such plan must describe all lighting that will be used, including any lighting that may be required by the FAA. Such a plan shall include but is not limited to the planned number and location of lights, light color and where any lights will be flashing. Strobe lights are discouraged and if they are required by the FAA they must be shielded from the ground. The lighting should be planned and developed in such a way to minimize the visual impact of the structures. A consideration of synchronized lighting shall also be part of any lighting plan. This WECS substation lighting plan shall include plans as to how glare for these lights are being controlled.

(m)

[Compliance.] All wind farm developments are to be in compliance with an Agriculture Impact Mitigation Agreement (AIMA), as approved by the State of Illinois.

(n)

[Project changes.] If the company proposes to make a change in the project, including moving a turbine siting more than 50 feet, then the company, through the use of a qualified professional, shall appropriately demonstrate compliance with the noise requirements at a hearing to amend the special use.

(Res. of 1-12-2006, § VI; Ord. No. 2017-04-14, § 1(exh. A), 4-13-2017)