Zoning Commission Minutes 2014 02-26-14ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Yorkville City Hall Conference Room
800 Game Farm Road, Yorkville, IL 60560
Meeting Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Mr. Baker and he welcomed everyone.
Roll Call
Roll call was taken; a quorum was established.
Committee Members in Attendance
Phil Haugen
Gary Neyer
Jeff Baker
City Officials in Attendance
Krysti Barksdale-Noble - Community Development Director
Chris Heinen – Planner
Citizen’s Comments
There were no citizens in attendance.
Previous Minutes
Mr. Baker asked for a motion to approve the January 22, 2014 minutes. Mr. Baker asked if there was
any discussion on the motions; there were none. A motion was made to approve and was seconded. He
asked for approval by saying, “Aye.” It was unanimous and the minutes were approved by the
committee.
Old Business
Chapter 19: Alternative Energy: Ms. Noble said she went back, create some criteria based on
information presented at the last meeting, along with some other things they had, and asked Mr. Heinen
to present to the committee what they proposed. He took information from previous meeting, along with
information on ordinances from other municipalities and some national ones (mainly from out East), and
basically broke the information down into two sections – Wind and Solar.
Purpose: Alternative energies are somewhat new for everybody. They want to provide regulations to
provide guidelines for proper installation for the city. The majority are Special Uses. Mr. Heinen said
twelve (12) continuous months seems to be the norm for surrounding communities with fines assessed if
nothing is remedied. Mr. Baker asked what criteria are being used to recognize abandon systems and
Ms. Noble said the Code Official has the authority to enforce that it has been discontinued. Mr. Baker
asked if there was an additional cost that would be passed along to residents every two years for
recertification. He would like to see it rolled under property maintenance instead of zoning. Ms. Noble
asked the Committee if they would like to see it removed, and they concurred.
APPROVED4/23/14
Signage: No commercial signage or attention-getting device is permitted on any Alternative Energy
System. One (1) sign shall be permitted to indicate the emergency contact information of the property
owner or operator. Said sign shall not exceed four (4) square feet in size and should be readable from a
thirty (30) foot distance from any direction.
Utility Service Providers: Evidence that the electric utility service provider that serves the proposed
site has been notified of the owner’s intent to install an interconnected customer-owned electricity
generator.
Safety: All wind energy systems shall be equipped with manual and/or automatic controls and
mechanical brakes to limit rotation of blades to prevent uncontrolled rotation.
Lighting: All Alternative energy Systems shall not be illuminated, except as required by the FAA.
Shadow flicker: Defined as the on-and-off strobe light effect caused by the shadow of moving turbine
blades cast by the sun passing through the rotating turbine. No habitable portion of an existing adjacent
structure shall be subject to Shadow Flicker from a wind turbine. Shadow Flicker onto an adjacent roof
and/or exterior wall which does not contain any windows, doors, and like openings shall be acceptable.
If Shadow Flicker occurs, the operation of the wind turbine shall cease during those times which cause
the Shadow Flicker.
Design: Wind energy systems and associated tower shall be a non-reflective color. As part of the
Special Use process*, the city council may impose such conditions as are necessary to eliminate, if at all
possible, any adverse affects such system may have on surrounding properties.
Compliance: Wind energy systems shall meet or exceed current standards of the international building
code and federal aviation administration (FAA) requirements, any other agency of the state or federal
government with the authority to regulate wind energy systems, and all city codes.
Building code/Safety Standards: This states everything is basically installed appropriately. The City
Code Official will most likely require training on energy efficient systems.
When he asked if they had any questions, Mr. Neyer inquired about the second sentence in the Design
paragraph; does the Committee want the Council to make the decision. Ms. Noble pointed out the goal
of the Council is not to design it, only provide input if there are any adverse effects deemed at the public
hearing. This would only apply to Special Use.
10-19-3: Free Standing Wind Energy Systems
Location: It is a collaboration of surrounding municipalities and what they have enacted. Will be
specified within each zoning district to determine if it Special Use or Permitted Use.
Clearance: The minimum clearance between the lowest tip of the rotor or blade and the ground is
fifteen (15) feet.
Permitted Yard Locations: Freestanding wind energy systems shall not be located within the required
front yard or corner side yard. They shall not be permitted within any utility, storm or drainage, water,
sewer, or other type of public easement.
Setbacks: The base of the system shall be setback 1.1 times (110%) the height of the highest edge of the
system from all property lines, overhead utility line poles, communication towers, public sidewalks or
trails, public right-of-ways and other freestanding wind energy systems. Any system or any ancillary
equipment shall not be located within any required setbacks of the respective zoning district.
Access: Freestanding wind energy systems and all components shall be protected against unauthorized
access by the public. Climbing access to the tower shall not start until twelve (12) feet above grade.
Noise: Freestanding wind energy systems shall not exceed the following:
A. Fifty-five (55) dBA when in or adjacent to all residential districts when measured at the
property line of the complainant.
B. Sixty (60) dBA when in or adjacent to all non-residential districts when measured at the
property line of the complainant.
10-19-4: Building Mounted Wind Energy Systems
Mr. Heinen said most of these are going to be Special Uses as specified in Table 10.06.07. They would
only be allowed on the principle and accessory structures and they must be set back a minimum of 5’
from the edge or eave of the roof. They cannot be attached to a chimney. They are only going to allow
one (1) turbine for every 500 square feet of the combined roof area. The noise levels are going to be the
same as the free-standing. The maximum height for a building mounted wind energy system is fifteen
(15) feet. The system shall not exceed fifteen feet above the maximum permitted height of any zoning
district.
10-19-5: Freestanding Solar Energy Systems
Mr. Heinen then addressed the Freestanding Solar Energy Systems and said that they have very similar
requirements to the Wind Energy systems. They cannot be set back in any interior front or corner side
yards. They shall be set back eight (8) feet from the property line. They cannot be placed in any
easement. The minimum clearance for a ground mounted was ten (10) feet due to the fact that they are
really trying to keep children safe.
Mr. Neyer asked about maximum heights. Mr. Heinen said there really wasn’t any maximum height for
Solar Energy Systems. There wasn’t a quantity on them, either. Ms. Noble asked if the committee
would like to see a maximum number on an individual lot. Mr. Baker questioned wouldn’t it be angled
to the sun for maximum usage and the size would all come into play? Mr. Heinen said they also had
minimum lot coverage. Mr. Neyer agreed they should tie it back to that. Mr. Baker did not think it
should be tied into the footprint because there was open surface underneath. Mr. Heinen said he would
go back and research maximum heights and restrictions on quantity.
10-19-6: Building Mounted Solar Energy Systems
Mr. Heinen reviewed that these are allowed on the principal and accessory structures, any roof face and
side and rear building facades. The systems are allowed on the front or exterior side building facades if
they following conditions are met:
A. Solar access is optimized on the front and exterior side facades.
B. Systems are simultaneously used to shade the structure’s doors or windows.
Mr. Baker had not seen these before (such as an awning) and said it brought several questions to mind,
such as public safety underneath them. Ms. Noble said that would be a manufacturing issue. Mr. Neyer
said he did not have an issue with it. Mr. Heinen continued -
Height: systems shall not extend beyond three (3) feet parallel to the roof surface of a pitched roof. Nor
shall the system extend beyond three (3) feet parallel to the roof surface of a pitched roof. Nor shall the
system extend beyond four (4) feet parallel to the roof surface of a flat roof. If the system is flush
mounted, the system must be less than four (4) inches from the roof surface. Mr. Neyer questioned why
it needs to be less than four (4) inches from the roof surface, and Ms. Noble and Mr. Heinen said they
would look into it.
Quantity: The total square footage may not exceed the total area of the roof surface of the structure to
which the system is attached. (*10.19-4: One turbine allowed for every 500 square feet combined area.
Anything above one turbine in a residential all districts would require a Special Use.)
Projection: The system may project up to four (4) feet from a building façade or roof edge. The system
may project into an interior side or interior rear setback, but shall be no closer than five (5) feet to the
interior side or interior rear property line. Mr. Neyer asked for the code definition of “interior rear
setback” and Ms. Noble said she see if there was a definition of that.
10-19-7: Permitting and Fees:
Permitting:
A. The installation of any alternative energy system requires a building permit from the United
City of Yorkville
B. In order to receive permit, alternative energy systems must be approved by an alternative
energy certification program.
C. Prior to permit issuance, the owner shall sign an acknowledgement that said owner will be
responsible for any and all enforcement costs and remediation costs resulting from any
violations of this chapter. These costs include, but are not limited to, removal of system,
property restoration necessary upon removal of the system, city legal expenses and hearing
costs associated with violations of this chapter.
D. A permit is valid for two (2) years following issuance or renewal. At the end of the two (2)
year period, the alternative energy system must be inspected by the city code official.
Following inspection, the code official will:
a. Renew the permit if found to be in compliance with this chapter;
b. Order any actions necessary for the alternative energy system to be in compliance
with this chapter; or
c. Determine the system abandoned per section 10-19-2.
Fees:
Mr. Neyer said if the city wants to encourage the use of alternative energy systems, throwing a $2,500
fee up front for a single-family residence doesn’t seem logical. Ms. Noble said they could go in the
section where it doesn’t have to affect the other section where they have them as special uses; they can
set up a fee schedule specifically for this for the special use process and say that the fee is $500 and that
covers engineering review. Mr. Neyer suggested in a single-family residential district for no more than
one (1) wind turbine, that should be a Permitted Use. If you want to put up more than one (1), or if
you’re a commercial use, that would be Special Use. For consistency, Ms. Noble thinks the roof top for
both wind and solar should be Permitted Use if they are the small vertical ones. Then, all of the ground
mounted ones would be Special Use* (above).
Mr. Baker announced that finishes up Chapter 19, and asked about a review for Chapter 20. Ms. Noble
said they were not going through Chapter 20 tonight. She wanted the Committee to have it so they can;
get an idea of what they have accomplished over the past four (4) years; see if they agreed with the
format for the final, final version; and asked them if they came across anything between now and when
the Committee meets again (possibly end of April/May for the last time they meet), let her know if
there’s something they didn’t catch. What they are planning on doing between now and then is collate
everything that was just discussed; updating everything; making sure each section relates to the other;
etc. Legal has been involved along the way; they have been getting the chapters all along and they are
now going to be asked for their mass review of all of the chapters. The department is going to finalize
the website, moving into Phase II where ‘A’ and ‘B’ questions will be asked. When the Committee
meets again, it would be the Zoning Commission’s Open House. It will be presented to the Committee,
as well as the public, in its final form to be inspected and a presentation from “Civic Art Works” with
their web site information; then - on to City Council for a public hearing. If everything goes according
to plan, they should be done by August at the very latest. Ms. Noble then told the Committee she will
email everyone when the next meeting is.
Mr. Baker asked if there was anything else; hearing none he called for an adjournment. It was called,
seconded and unanimously accepted and the meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.
*Added after discussion
Minutes respectfully submitted by: Bonnie Olsem, Administrative Secretary