County Wind Ordinance Standards

Assembly Bill 45 of 2009 authorized counties to adopt ordinances to provide for the installation of small wind systems (50 kW or smaller) outside urbanized areas but within the county's jurisdiction. The bill also addressed specific aspects of a typical wind ordinance and established the limiting factors by which a county's wind ordinance can be no more restrictive. Counties may freely make more lenient ordinances, but this legislation was designed to establish maximum restrictions a county may impose if they choose to develop a small wind ordinance. These provisions apply only to county ordinances developed after January 1, 2011. Maximum restrictions in the following categories are specifically included in the legislation: Public NoticeTower HeightSetbackNoise LevelVisual EffectsTurbine ApprovalTower DrawingsLine DrawingsEngineering AnalysisAdditionally, counties may impose conditions on other factors, which include, but are not limited to, view protection, aesthetics, aviation, and design safety requirements.