[Added 5-7-2012 by L.L.
No. 1-2012]
The Town Board of the Town of Kingston recognizes the increased
demand for alternative energy generating facilities and the need for
more inexpensive power that wind turbine facilities may provide. Often
these facilities require the construction of single or multiple wind
turbines. The purpose of these regulations is to protect the community's
interest in properly setting wind turbine towers in a manner consistent
with sound land use planning, while also allowing private and commercial
providers to meet their power-generating objectives.
A.
Roof-mounted wind turbines are permitted within all zoning districts.
B.
Private wind turbine towers are permitted upon the granting of a
special permit within the Residential (R) and Business (MU-1 and MU-2)
Zoning Districts.
C.
Commercial wind power generating facilities are permitted upon granting
of a special permit within the Business (MU-1 and MU-2) Zoning Districts.
A.
No special use permit shall be granted for a private wind turbine tower or a commercial wind power generating facility and/or transmission system unless it is determined by the Town of Kingston Planning Board that the proposed use meets all of the following criteria, in addition to the site plan review and special permit criteria in Articles IV and V in the Town of Kingston Zoning Law.
B.
No experimental, home-built, or prototype wind turbines shall be
allowed without documentation by the applicant of their maximum probable
blade throw distance in the event of failure and determination by
the Planning Board of appropriate setback distances on the basis of
that documentation.
C.
The minimum required setback distance between each wind turbine tower
and all surrounding property lines, overhead utility lines, any dwellings
or other buildings for occupancy, and any other wind turbine towers,
aboveground generation facilities, shall be not less than 1.5 times
the proposed structure height plus the rotor radius.
D.
No wind turbine tower facilities 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.
E.
No wind turbine tower facilities shall be installed in any location
where its proximity with existing fixed broadcast, retransmission,
or reception antenna (including residential reception antenna) for
radio, television, or wireless phone or other personal communications
systems would produce electromagnetic interference with signal transmission
or reception.
F.
Use of nighttime, and overcast daytime condition, stroboscopic lighting
to satisfy tower facility lighting requirements for the FAA shall
be subject to on-site field testing, with respect to glare to existing
residential uses within 200 feet of each tower for which such strobe
lighting is proposed, before the Planning Board as a prerequisite
to the Board's approval.
G.
No wind turbine tower facilities shall be installed in any location
that would substantially detract from or block the view of a portion
of a recognized scenic viewshed, as viewed from any public road right-of-way,
public body of water, or publically owned land within the Town of
Kingston or that extends beyond the border of the Town of Kingston.
H.
Wind turbine tower facilities shall be located with relation to property
lines so that the level of noise produced during wind turbine operation
shall not exceed 50 dbA, measured at the boundaries of all of the
closest parcels that are owned by non-site owners and that abut either
the site parcel(s) or any other parcels as those boundaries exist
at the time of the issuance of any special permit for such facilities.
I.
No wind turbine tower facilities shall be permitted that lack an
automatic breaking, governing, or featuring system to prevent uncontrolled
rotation, overspeeding, and excessive pressure on the tower structure,
rotor blades, and turbine components.
J.
The minimum distance between the ground and any part of the rotor
blade system shall be 30 feet, unless a fence enclosure is provided
to limit unauthorized or accidental access to the spinning rotors.
K.
All power transmission lines from the wind turbine tower facilities
to on-site substations shall be underground.
L.
Procedures acceptable to the Planning Board for emergency shutdown
of power generation units shall be established and posted prominently
and permanently on at least one location on the road frontage of each
individual unit site.
A.
Building permit applications shall be accompanied by a line drawing
identifying the electrical components of the wind system to be installed
in sufficient detail to allow for a determination that the manner
of installation conforms to the National Electrical Code. The application
shall include a statement from a New York State registered professional
engineer indicating that the electrical system conforms to good engineering
practices and complies with the National Electrical Code. The manufacturer
normally supplies this certificate. All equipment and materials shall
be used or installed in accordance with such drawings and diagrams.
B.
Where the electrical components of an installation vary from the
manufacturer's standard design or specifications, the proposed modifications
shall be reviewed and certified by a New York State registered professional
engineer for compliance with requirements of the National Electrical
Code and good engineering practices.
Prior to issuance of a building permit for a wind turbine tower
and continuing thereafter until such facility is removed from the
site, the applicant shall provide documentation satisfactory to the
Town and at such reasonable intervals as determined by the Town of
the existence of liability insurance coverage with reasonable limits
as determined by the Town Board in consultation with the Town's insurer,
for property damage, injury or death resulting from the construction,
placement, use, maintenance, operation of a wind generation facility,
by the owner of the site.
A.
Obsolete or unused wind turbines and accessory structures shall be
removed from any site within four months of the discontinuance of
the use thereof. The owner of the site shall notify the Town in writing
within 10 days of the discontinuance of the use of such turbine tower
or facility. Failure to notify and/or remove the obsolete or unused
tower or facility in accordance with these regulations shall be a
violation of this law. The Town Board may remove such facilities after
the fourth month of discontinuance upon 20 days' written notice to
the owner.
B.
When the zoning permit is obtained for a commercial wind turbine
facility, the applicant must provide and maintain a performance bond
issued by a surety licensed in New York State in a form acceptable
to the Town or other security acceptable to the Town for removal of
the wind turbines and property restoration in an amount approved by
the Planning Board, but not less than $5,000.
C.
When a zoning permit is renewed or modified, the Planning Board may
adjust the required amount of the financial security bond to adequately
cover increases in cost of removal of the wind turbine facility and
property restoration.
B.
A digital elevation model-based project visibility map showing the
impact of topography upon visibility of the project from other locations
throughout the region, to a distance of five miles from the center
of the project, shall be provided. The scale used shall depict a three-mile
radius no smaller than 2.7 inches, and the base map shall be a published
topographic map showing cultural features and other landmarks.
C.
Color photographs, at least three inches by five inches, taken from
locations selected by the Planning Board within a three-mile radius
of the boundaries of the facility site, shall be provided. Said photographs
shall be computer enhanced to simulate the appearance of the as-built
aboveground site facilities as such would appear from said locations.
The number of photographs to be submitted shall be equal to the number
of proposed individual wind turbines plus three, but in no event less
than four.
