The purpose of this chapter is to guide the construction and operation of wind energy facilities, small wind energy facilities and wind measurement towers in the Town of Niskayuna, subject to reasonable conditions that will protect the public health, safety and welfare.
The requirements of this chapter shall apply to all wind energy facilities, small wind energy facilities and wind measurement towers proposed, operated, modified, or constructed within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Niskayuna. Wind energy facilities, small wind energy facilities and wind measurement towers shall be allowed within the Town subject to the requirements of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY FACILITIES OR EQUIPMENT Any structure, other than a wind turbine, related to the use and purpose of deriving, collecting or distributing energy from such wind turbines located on or associated with a wind energy facility, small wind energy facility or wind measurement tower.
PUBLIC ROAD Any federal, state, county or Town road which is open to the public, or a private road regularly used by multiple persons for access to separate off-site parcels of land, access to which is unrestricted by the owner(s) of said private road.
RESIDENCE Any dwelling located on site which is suitable for habitation on the date a wind energy facility, small wind energy facility or wind measurement tower application is received by the Town and deemed complete by the Town Board and for which a valid certificate of occupancy has been issued or should have been issued prior to such date. A residence may be part of a multifamily dwelling or multipurpose building and shall include buildings such as hotels, motels, hospitals, day-care centers, dormitories, and nursing homes.
SITE The parcel(s) of land where a wind energy facility, small wind energy facility or wind measurement tower is to be placed. The site can be publicly or privately owned by an individual or a group of individuals controlling single or adjacent properties. Where multiple lots are in joint ownership, the combined lots shall be considered as one for purposes of applying setback requirements.
SMALL WIND ENERGY FACILITY A wind energy conversion system consisting of a wind turbine, a tower, and associated control or conversion electronics and electrical collection and distribution equipment, and accessory facilities or equipment, which has a nameplate capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts. Small wind energy facilities shall be considered major accessory structures on residential building lots.
TOTAL HEIGHT The highest point above ground level of any improvement related to a wind energy facility, small wind energy facility or wind measurement tower. Total height as applied to wind turbines shall include the highest point of any wind turbine blade above the tower.
WIND ENERGY FACILITY Any wind turbine or array of wind turbines designed to deliver electricity to the power grid for sale with a combined production capacity of more than 100 kilowatts, including all related infrastructure, electrical collection and distribution lines and substations, access road and accessory structures, including accessory facilities or equipment.
WIND MEASUREMENT TOWER A tower used for the measurement of meteorological data such as temperature, wind speed and wind direction.
WIND TURBINE A wind energy conversion system consisting of turbine blades and hub connected to a drive train and electrical generator housed in a nacelle mounted on a tower together with associated control or conversion electronics and equipment.
The following standards shall apply to large wind energy facilities only:
A. Unless an environmental constraint prohibits burial, all power transmission lines from the tower to any building, substation, or other structure shall be located underground in accordance with National Electrical Code standards, unless an environmental constraint requires such transmission lines to be located above ground.
B. Wind turbines and towers must be white in color.
C. No advertising signs are allowed on any part of the wind energy facility, including fencing and support structures.
D. No tower shall be lit except to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. Minimum security lighting for ground-level facilities shall be allowed as approved on the wind energy facility development plan.
E. The wind energy facility shall be designed to minimize the impact of land clearing and the loss of important open spaces. Development on agricultural lands shall follow the Guidelines for Agricultural Mitigation for Wind Power Projects published by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
F. Stormwater runoff and erosion control shall be managed in a manner consistent with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations, and such standards shall be applied by the Planning Board.
G. Wind turbines shall be located in a manner that minimizes shadow flicker on residences and roadways.
H. No wind energy facility shall be installed in any location where its proximity with existing fixed broadcast, retransmission, or reception antennas for radio, television, or wireless phone or personal communications systems would produce electromagnetic interference with signal transmission or reception. No wind energy facility shall be installed in any location along the major axis of an existing microwave communications link where its operation is likely to produce electromagnetic interference in the link's operation. If it is determined that a wind energy facility is causing electromagnetic interference, the operator shall take the necessary corrective action to eliminate this interference, including relocation or removal of the facilities or resolution of the issue with impacted parties.
The provisions of this section shall apply to wind energy facilities only.
A. Designated traffic routes for construction and delivery vehicles to minimize traffic impacts, wear and tear on local roads, and impacts on local business operations shall be proposed by the applicant and reviewed by the Planning Board.
B. To the extent the designated traffic routes will include the use of Town, county or state roads, the applicant is responsible for executing a road use agreement with the appropriate agency, which shall provide for the remediation of damaged roads upon completion of the installation or maintenance of a wind energy facility and for adequate maintenance of the roads during construction of the wind energy facility, such that the roads will remain open and passable. Prior to the issuance of any building permit, the cost of remediating road damage shall be secured in the form of a letter of credit or other surety that is acceptable to the appropriate agency and sufficient to compensate the agency for any damage to public roads.
C. The applicant shall provide pre- and post-development photographic evidence of the condition of Town, county, or state roads to be traveled upon by construction and delivery vehicles.
Issuance of a special use permit, site plan review, and certificates of conformity shall be as follows:
A. The Town Board and/or the Planning Board shall, within 180 days of either issuing SEQRA findings or a SEQRA negative declaration or conditioned negative declaration, issue a written decision with the reasons for approval, conditions of approval or disapproval fully stated. This time period may be extended with consent of the applicant.
B. The Town Board and/or the Planning Board is empowered to impose conditions with the approval of the special use permit and site plan approval as well as construction and operational phases of the project which it deems necessary and appropriate to ensure the following:
(1) Compliance with this chapter and SEQRA;
(2) Conformity of project construction and operation with representations made by the applicant during the application review process, as well as with any determinations or findings issued by the Town Board and/or Planning Board or any other involved agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act; and
(3) Compliance with any other federal, state or local laws or regulations applicable to the project, and as may be necessary to promote the public health, safety and welfare.
C. If approved, the Town Board and/or the Planning Board shall direct the Town Zoning Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector or other designee authorized by the Town Board to issue a permit upon satisfaction of any and all conditions precedent set forth under this chapter, the terms of approval or conditions of the permit, or any additional requirement of the Town Board and/or Planning Board imposed in connection with any other project approval or agreement deemed necessary to the issuance of the permit.
D. The decision of the Town Board and/or the Planning Board shall be filed within five days in the office of the Town Clerk, and a copy shall be mailed to the applicant by first-class mail.
E. If any approved wind energy facility, small wind energy facility or wind measurement tower is not completed within 24 months of issuance of the permit, the permit shall expire unless the Town Board and/or Planning Board shall have granted an extension.
F. Upon commissioning of the project, which for purposes of wind energy facilities and small wind energy facilities shall mean the conversion of wind energy to electrical energy for on-site use or distribution to the electrical grid, and for purposes of wind measurement towers shall mean the collection of wind speed and/or other data by the wind measurement tower equipment, the Town Zoning Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector or other designee authorized by the Town Board shall determine whether the project is in compliance with the permit. If the Town Zoning Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector or other designee determines the project is in compliance with the permit, a certificate of conformity shall be promptly issued to the permittee.
All wind energy facilities, small wind energy facilities and wind measurement towers shall be maintained in operational condition at all times, subject to reasonable maintenance and repair outages. "Operational condition" includes meeting all noise requirements and other permit conditions. Should a wind turbine or wind measurement tower become inoperable, or any part of the wind energy facility or small wind energy facility be damaged, or should a violation of a permit condition occur, the permittee, owner or operator shall remedy the failure within 90 days, except that where in the opinion of the Building Inspector such defect presents a threat to the health and safety of the public, such defect must be remedied as soon as possible. Upon a failure to perfect a timely remedy, project operation shall cease. Application of this section of the chapter shall in no way extend or interrupt any time periods set forth under §
218-12 of this chapter.