Safety and environmental standards
A. Emergency access and safety. Reasonable accessibility for emergency service vehicles shall be required, along with documentation that a public safety preparedness and response plan, detailing the standards, procedures, and communication protocol to be utilized at the system and in the event of an emergency, and documentation indicating that the plan has been approved by the fire marshal. All means of disconnecting the wind energy system shall be clearly marked. The applicant or system owner shall identify a responsible person for public inquiries or complaints throughout the life of the project.
B. Security. A fence shall surround the perimeter of any wind energy system unless adequate property perimeter fencing already exists to the satisfaction of the zoning officer. Said fencing shall be no less than seven feet in height nor greater than ten feet in height, shall be located behind any vegetated buffer required by this section, and, as feasible, shall not obscure scenic views and shall incorporate wildlife passage features for small mammals and birds in its design and installation. Wind energy systems shall be designed to prevent unauthorized access. For instance, the towers of wind turbines shall be designed and installed so that step bolts or other climbing features are not readily accessible to the public and so that step bolts or other climbing features are not installed below the level of eight feet above the ground. Electrical equipment shall be locked where possible.
C. Setbacks. A wind turbine may not be sited within:
1) A distance equal to or less than one and one-half times the maximum tip height (MTH) of the wind turbine from any property lines, buildings, critical infrastructure—including critical electric infrastructure and above-ground natural gas distribution infrastructure—or private or public ways that are not part of the wind energy system; or
2) A distance equal to three times the maximum tip height (MTH) of the turbine from the nearest existing residential or commercial structure.
D. Shadow/flicker. Wind energy systems shall be sited in a manner that minimizes shadowing or flicker impacts. The applicant has the burden of proving that this effect does not have significant adverse impacts on neighboring or adjacent uses.
E. Sound. The operation of the wind energy system shall be no more than a 5 dB(A) increase over the site's pre-construction ambient sound levels. The applicant shall fund a third party with acoustic expertise to conduct this pre-construction sound monitoring, and to predict turbine sound levels at surrounding property lines. The most up-to-date IEC standards for sound power levels (IEC 61400-11 ed 3 as of 2015) should be used in conjunction with the most current ISO sound pressure propagation methods (ISO 9613-2 as of 2015), though other accurate sound modeling options, such as NORD200 software, are also accepted.
F. Clearing, excavation, and filling. Clearing of natural vegetation shall be strictly limited to what is necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the wind energy system or as otherwise prescribed by applicable laws and regulations. Excavation and filling of project sites shall be limited to what is necessary to stabilize the installation area.
(Ord. of 2-3-2025(1), § 1(Exh. A))