A.
The purpose of this article is to adopt and incorporate the requirements
of § 66.0401, Wis. Stats., Ch. PSC 128, Wis. Adm. Code,
as a local ordinance and to establish local regulations on the installation
and use of small wind energy systems that are authorized by, compliant
with, and no more restrictive than the rules promulgated by the Wisconsin
Public Service Commission and that serve to preserve or protect the
public health or safety, do not significantly increase the cost of
the system or significantly decrease its efficiency, or allow for
an alternative system of comparable cost or efficiency.
All definitions contained in § 66.0401, Wis. Stats.,
and Ch. PSC 128, Wis. Adm. Code, as amended from time to time, are
hereby incorporated by reference.
A.
An owner must apply for and receive a zoning permit from the Planning
and Development Department (hereinafter referred to as the "Department")
before installing, constructing or expanding any small wind energy
system.
B.
The owner must pay an application fee at the time the application
for a small wind energy system is filed with the Department.
C.
A zoning permit issued by the Department expires if construction
of the small wind energy system is not commenced within 18 months
from the date of the permit or if the small wind energy system is
not installed and functioning within 12 months from the date construction
begins.
A.
The owner must file an application that contains the information
specified in § PSC 128.30, Wis. Adm. Code, except as modified
by § PSC 128.61(6), Wis. Adm. Code.
B.
A plan shall be submitted that includes information specified in § 490-3.1G. The owner must also provide the following additional information on the plan or as part of the permit application:
(1)
Location of any overhead utility lines on or adjacent to the
property;
(2)
Description and specifications of the components of the small
wind energy system, including the manufacturer, model, capacity, blade
length, and total height of the small wind energy system; and
(3)
Blueprints or drawings which have been approved by a registered
professional engineer for any tower and tower foundation.
A.
Any document or paper required to be filed with the Village pursuant
to Ch. PSC 128, Wis. Adm. Code, or this article must be filed at or
delivered to the Department's office.
B.
Any document, paper or other material submitted to the Village that
relates to an application must be delivered to the Department's office.
C.
Any document or paper filed or otherwise submitted by an owner or
any other interested party that relates to an application must be
8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size. A person who wishes to submit
a paper that is larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size
shall also submit reduced copy that is 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches
in size.
A.
An owner shall provide information showing that it has complied with
the notification requirements of § PSC 128.105(1), Wis.
Adm. Code, as modified by § PSC 128.61(1), Wis. Adm. Code.
B.
An owner shall provide information showing that it has complied with
the notification requirements specified in § PSC 128.14(6),
Wis. Adm. Code, as modified by § PSC 128.61(4), Wis. Adm.
Code.
A.
A small wind energy system that does not generate electricity for
a continuous period of 540 days will be deemed abandoned, and the
Department may issue a notice of abandonment to the owner.
B.
If within 30 days of receipt of a notice of abandonment the owner
provides the Department with information showing that the small wind
energy system has not been abandoned, the Department will withdraw
the notice.
C.
Unless the Department withdraws the notice of abandonment, a small
wind energy system tower must be decommissioned as prescribed by § PSC
128.19, Wis. Adm. Code. If the owner fails to remove a small wind
energy system and reclaim the site, the Village may remove or cause
the removal of the small wind energy system and arrange for the reclamation
of the site. The cost of removal and reclamation will become a lien
upon the property and may be collected in the same manner as property
taxes.
A small wind energy system must comply with the National Electrical
Code and all applicable state construction and electrical codes. The
owner must provide certification from a state-licensed inspector showing
that the small wind energy system complies with all applicable codes
before placing the small wind energy system into operation.
All electrical wires associated with a small wind energy system,
other than wires necessary to connect the wind generator to the tower
wiring, the tower wiring to the disconnect junction box, and the grounding
wires, must be located underground.
A.
An owner may not construct wind energy system facilities within an
emergency communication corridor, which is defined as the area within
an existing line-of-sight communication path that is used by a government
or military entity to provide services essential to protect public
safety.
B.
An owner shall provide information showing that wind energy system facilities will be in compliance with Subsection A.
C.
Kenosha County will provide the locations of emergency communication
services and line-of-sight corridors that are essential to protect
public safety.
All ground-mounted electrical and control equipment must be
labeled and secure to prevent unauthorized access.
A.
An owner shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a wind turbine
is not readily climbable except by authorized personnel.
B.
An owner shall ensure that all wind turbine access doors and electrical
equipment are locked when authorized personnel are not present.
C.
An owner shall place appropriate warning signage on or at the base
of each wind turbine.
D.
An owner shall clearly mark guy wires and supports for a wind energy
system, meteorological tower or other device for measuring wind speeds,
so that the wires and supports are visible to low-flying aircraft
under fair weather conditions.
A.
The noise generated by the operation of a small wind energy system
may not exceed 50 db(A) during the daytime hours and 45 db(A) during
the nighttime hours, as measured at the outside wall of a nonparticipating
residence or occupied community building that existed when the owner
gave notice pursuant to § PSC 128.105(1), Wis. Adm. Code,
or for which complete publicly available plans for construction were
on file with a political subdivision within 30 days of the date when
the owner gave notice pursuant to § PSC 128.105(1), Wis.
Adm. Code.
B.
The owner of an adjacent nonparticipating residence or adjacent occupied
community building may relieve the owner of the small wind energy
system of the requirement to meet any of the noise limits in this
section by written contract, as provided in § PSC 128.14(5)
and (6), Wis. Adm. Code.
C.
The owner shall provide the notice as prescribed by § PSC
128.61(4), Wis. Adm. Code.
D.
If an owner receives a complaint of a violation of the noise standards
contained in § PSC 128.14, Wis. Adm. Code, and the owner
has not provided the Department with the results of an accurate test
conducted within two years prior to the date of the complaint showing
that the small wind energy system is in compliance with the noise
standard at the location relating to the complaint, the owner shall
promptly conduct a noise study to evaluate compliance with the noise
standards at that location using the most current version of the noise
measurement protocol as described in § PSC 128.50(2), Wis.
Adm. Code.
An owner shall provide the Village with notice of any change
in ownership of the small wind energy system on or before the effective
date of the change.
An owner shall submit a copy of all necessary state and federal
permits and approvals to the Department.
A.
A small wind energy system must be set back at least 1.0 times the
maximum blade tip height from any nonparticipating property line,
nonparticipating residence, occupied community building or overhead
communication and electrical transmission line, not including utility
service lines to individual houses or outbuildings.
B.
The owner of an adjacent nonparticipating residence or adjacent occupied
community building may waive the required setback distance.
A.
An owner shall use reasonable efforts to avoid causing interference
with commercial and personal communications in use when the wind energy
system begins operation, to the extent practicable.
B.
If necessary, an owner shall, under a protocol established by § PSC
128.50(2), Wis. Adm. Code, implement a new technology solution that
becomes commercially available before the small wind energy system
is decommissioned to address interference.
A small wind energy system that connects to the electric utility
must comply with Ch. PSC 119, Rules for Interconnecting Distributed
Generation Facilities, Wis. Adm. Code.
A.
An owner shall construct, operate, repair, maintain and replace wind
energy system facilities as needed to keep the wind energy system
in good repair and operating condition in a manner that protects individuals
from injury.
B.
An owner shall notify the Village of the occurrence and nature of
a wind energy system emergency within 24 hours of the wind energy
system emergency.
A.
The application for a zoning permit will be processed following the procedures set forth in Article 3, Permits.
B.
An owner shall, on the same day that it files an application for
a small wind energy system, use commercially reasonable methods to
provide written notice of the filing of the application to property
owners and residents located adjacent to the small wind energy system.
The notice shall contain the information specified in § PSC
128.30(5), Wis. Adm. Code.
C.
Upon receipt of an application, the Department shall publish the
notice required by § 66.0401(4)(a)1, Wis. Stats., and § PSC
128.30(5)(b), Wis. Adm. Code.
D.
The Department will accept written comments on the application for
a period of 10 days following the date of the published notice.
E.
If the permit application is denied, the Department will notify the
owner in writing and provide a written statement of the reason why
the application was denied. The owner may appeal the Department's
decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
A.
An application is complete if it complies with the filing requirements
of this chapter and of §§ PSC 128.30(2) and PSC 128.50(1),
Wis. Adm. Code.
B.
An application is considered filed the day the owner notifies the
Department in writing that all the application materials have been
filed.
C.
The Department shall determine the completeness of an application
and shall notify the owner in writing of the completeness determination
no later than 45 days after the day the application is filed.
D.
If the Department determines that the application is incomplete,
it shall provide the owner with written notice stating the reasons
for the determination. The owner shall provide additional information
specified in the notice, and an additional forty-five-day completeness
review period will begin the day after the Department receives responses
to all items identified in the notice.
E.
If the owner fails to provide additional information specified in
the notice of an incomplete application within 90 days, the application
will be deemed abandoned. The owner may refile the application at
a later date, subject to payment of a new application fee. There is
no limit to the number of times that an owner may refile an application.
F.
If the Village does not make a completeness determination within
the applicable review period, the application is considered to be
complete.
A.
The Department may request additional information necessary to understand
the small wind energy system after determining that an application
is complete.
B.
An owner shall provide additional information in response to all
reasonable requests.
C.
An owner shall respond to all inquiries made subsequent to a determination
of completeness in a timely, complete and accurate manner.
D.
If the owner fails to provide additional information requested within
90 days, the application will be deemed abandoned. The owner may refile
the application at a later date, subject to the payment of a new application
fee. There is no limit to the number of times that an owner may refile
an application.
A.
The Department shall have 90 days from the date that it notifies
the owner that the application is complete in which to approve or
disapprove the application.
B.
The review period may be extended upon written notice to the applicant
for one or more of the following reasons, but the total time for all
extensions may not exceed an additional 90 days:
C.
If the Department fails to act within the 90 days, or within any
extended time period, the application will be considered approved.
A.
The Department shall issue a written decision to grant or deny an
application for a small wind energy system. The written decision must
include findings of fact supported by evidence in the record. If an
application is denied, the decision must specify the reason for the
denial.
B.
The Department shall provide a duplicate original of its written
decision to the owner and the Public Service Commission (hereinafter
referred to as the "Commission").
C.
The owner shall record the duplicate original of a decision approving
an application with the Register of Deeds.
A.
An owner shall file a notice of decommissioning completion with the
Village and any political subdivision within which its small wind
energy system facilities are located when a small wind energy system
approved by the Village has been decommissioned and removed.
B.
The Department shall conduct a decommissioning review to determine
whether the owner has decommissioned and removed the small wind energy
system as required by § PSC 128.19(1)(a), Wis. Adm. Code.
C.
The owner shall cooperate with the Village by participating in the
decommissioning review process.
A.
A decision by the Department that the application is incomplete,
or to approve or disapprove the application, or to impose a restriction
on a small wind energy system may be appealed in accordance with the
procedures set forth by the Zoning Board of Appeals or by appealing
to the Commission under § 66.0401(5), Wis. Stats.
B.
Any action by the Village to enforce a restriction on a small wind
energy system may be appealed to the Commission.
C.
An appeal must be filed with the Commission within 30 days after
the date of the decision or the start of the enforcement action that
is being appealed.
A.
An aggrieved person who has made a complaint to an owner in accordance
with § PSC 128.40, Wis. Adm. Code, may petition the Village
for review of the complaint if it has not been resolved within 45
days of the day the owner received the original complaint.
B.
The petition for review must be filed with the Department within
90 days of the date of the original complaint.
C.
The petition must include the following:
(1)
Name, address and telephone number of the person filing the
petition.
(2)
Copy of the original complaint to the owner.
(3)
Copy of the owner's initial response.
(4)
Statement describing the unresolved complaint.
(5)
Statement describing the desired remedy.
(6)
Any other information the complainant deems relevant to the
complaint.
(7)
Notarized signature of the person filing the petition.
D.
The Department shall forward a copy of the petition to the owner
by certified mail within 10 days of the Department's receipt of the
petition.
E.
The owner shall file an answer to the petition with the Department
and provide a copy of its answer to the complainant within 30 days
of its receipt of the petition.
F.
The answer must include the following:
(1)
Name, address and telephone number of the person filing the
answer.
(2)
Statement describing the actions taken by the owner in response
to the complaint.
(3)
Statement of the reasons why the owner believes that the complaint
has been resolved or why the complaint remains unresolved.
(4)
Statement describing any additional action the owner plans or
is willing to take to resolve the complaint.
(5)
Any other information the owner deems relevant to the complaint.
(6)
Notarized signature of the person filing the answer.
G.
The complainant and the owner may, within 30 days following the owner's
filing of its answer, file such additional information with the Department
as each deems appropriate.
H.
The Department may request such additional information from the complainant
and the owner as it deems necessary to complete its review.
I.
The Department may retain such consultants or experts as it deems
necessary to complete its review.
J.
The Department shall issue a written decision and may take such enforcement
action as it deems appropriate with respect to the complaint.
K.
The Department's decision and enforcement action is subject to review
under § 66.0401(5), Wis. Stats.
