By Aberdeen Insider - May 22, 2025 in CITY OF FREDERICK
ORDINANCE #2025-01
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PROVISIONS TO REGULATE THE PLACEMENT AND INSTALLATION OF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS (WECS) IN CHAPTER THREE OF THE REVISED ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF FREDERICK, SOUTH DAKOTA
BE IT ORDAINED by the Town of Frederick, South Dakota, that the following Chapter 3, Section 3 is hereby established to read as follows: –
3-3-1 Purpose
The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure that the placement, construction and modification of a Wind Energy System (WES) facility is consistent with the Town’s land use policies, to minimize the impact of WES facilities, to establish a fair and efficient process for review and approval of applications, to assure a comprehensive review of environmental impacts of such facilities, and to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens.
3-3-2 Federal and State Requirements
All WES facilities shall meet or exceed standards and regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration and South Dakota State Statutes and any other agency of federal or state government with the authority to regulate WES facilities.
3-3-3 Definitions
- Large Wind Energy System or LWES – All WES facilities excluding Small Wind Energy
- Small Wind Energy System or SWES – A WES facility with a single tower height of less than seventy-five (75) feet and a swept area of thirty
(30) feet or less used primarily for on-site consumption of power.
- Tower Height-The height above grade of the fixed portion of the tower, excluding the wind turbine itself.
- System Height-The height above grade of the tallest point of the WES, including the rotor radius.
- Turbine – The parts of the WES including the blades, generator and
- Wind Energy System or WES – A commonly owned and/or managed integrated system that converts wind movement into electricity. All of the following are encompassed in this definition of system:
- Tower or multiple towers, including
- Generator(s).
- Blade(s).
- Power collection systems, including pad mount
- Access roads, meteorological towers, on-site electric substation, control building, and other ancillary equipment and facilities; d,
- Electric interconnection systems or portion thereof dedicated to the
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- Wind Tower-The monopole, freestanding or guyed structure that supports the energy capture, conversion, storage and transfer components of a WES. These wind towers are not attached to any
3-3-4 Requirements for Siting Small Wind Energy Systems (SWES):
- Standards: A Small Wind Energy System as defined in 3-3-3(2) shall be a permitted use in all zoning districts subject to the following requirements:
The minimum setback distance between each wind turbine tower and all surrounding property lines, overhead utility or transmission lines, other wind turbine towers, electrical substations, meteorological towers, primary communication towers, public roads and dwellings shall_be at least 1.1 times, or 110%, the height of the tower, unless written permission is granted by each affected person, including but not limited to an adjacent land owner. This minimum setback distance is measured from the base of each tower.
All ground mounted electrical and control equipment shall be labeled and totally and permanently enclosed by a security fence of at least six (6) feet high. No fence is required if the climbing apparatus is enclosed inside the wind tower and the entry is secured, or if the climbing apparatus is located at least twelve (12) feet above the ground level.
Lighting. Towers shall be marked as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). There shall be no lights on the towers other than what is required by the This restriction shall not apply to infrared heating devices used to protect the monitoring equipment.
SWES facilities shall not exceed forty-five (45) dBA, as measured at the closest neighboring inhabited dwelling. The level, however, may be exceeded during short-term events such as utility outages or windstorms.
All SWES shall be equipped with a manual and automatic brake device capable of halting operation. •
All wiring, electrical lines, communication cables, and collectors for SWES shall be underground.
All outbuildings/cabinets associated with a SWES shall meet all setback requirements for the zoning district in which the SWES is located.
Appearance, Color, The SWES shall be a non-reflective, non glass, neutral color. It shall remain painted or finished the color of finish that was originally applied by the manufacturer.
All signs, other than the manufactures or installer’s identification, appropriate warning signs, or owner identification on a wind generator, tower, building, or other structure associated with a SWES visible from any public road shall be prohibited.
Code Compliance. A SWES shall comply with all applicable local, state and national construction and electrical codes, and relevant national and international codes.
No SWES shall be installed in any location where its proximity. with fixed broadcast, retransmission or reception antenna for radio, airport RF signals, television or wireless phone or other personal communication systems would produce electromagnetic interference with signal transmission or reception.
Utility Notification. No SWES shall be installed until evidence has been given that the utility company has been informed of the customer’s intent to install an interconnected customer-owned generator. Off-grid systems shall be exempt from this requirement.
Permit Requirements:
Building Permit. A building permit shall be required for the installation of a SWES in accordance with Ord. 3-1-3.
- The building permit shall be accompanied by a plot plan which includes the following:
- Property lines and physical dimensions of the
- Location, dimensions and types of existing major structures on the property.
- Location of the proposed
- The right-of-way of any public road that is contiguous with the
- Any overhead utility
- Wind system specifications, including manufacturer and model, rotor diameter, tower height, and tower type (monopole, lattice, guyed).
- Tower foundation blueprints or
- Tower blueprint or drawing.
- Proof of notification to the utility in the service territory in which the SWE is to be erected, consistent with the provisions of. and,
- That status of all necessary interconnection agreements or
- A permit issued pursuant to this ordinance shall expire if the SWES is not installed and functioning within twelve (12) months from the date the permit is issued.
- Abandonment:
- A SWES that is out-of-service for a continuous twelve (12) month period will be deemed to have been abandoned. The City Council may issue a Notice of Abandonment to the owner of a SWES that is deemed to have been abandoned. The owner shall have the right to respond to the Notice of Abandonment within thirty (30) days from the date the notice is received. The Council shall withdraw the Notice of Abandonment and notify the owner that the Notice has been withdrawn if the owner provides information that demonstrates the SWES has not been abandoned.
- If the SWES is determined to be abandoned, the owner of the SWES shall remove the wind generator from the tower at the owner’s expense within three (3) months from the date the Notice of Abandonment is received. If the owner fails to remove the wind generator from the tower, the Council may pursue legal action to have the wind generator removed at the owner’s
- It is unlawful for any person to construct, install or operate a SWES that is not in compliance with this ordinance or with any condition contained in a building permit issued pursuant to this ordinance.
- The provisions of this ordinance are severable, and the invalidity of any section, subdivision, paragraph or other part of this ordinance shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of the remainder of the -ordinance.
3-3-5 Large Wind Energy Systems (LWES):
The Town of Frederick prohibits any and all LWES as defined in 3-3-3(1) within the city limits.
Dated this 7th day of May 2025.
________________
/s/ R. Scott Campbell,
Town Board President
ATTEST:
_________________
/s/ Jennifer Morlock,
Finance Officer
First Reading: May 07, 2025
Second Reading: May 14, 2025
Yeas: 03 Nays: 00 Published:
Published once on May 22, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $xx.xx and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com