BILL ANALYSIS
AB 45
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 45 (Blakelsee)
As Amended September 2, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 28, 2009) |SENATE: |30-7 |(September 4, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Reenacts a lapsed authorization for local governments
to provide, by ordinance, for the installation of small wind
energy systems, as defined, and requires local governments that
have not provided such authorization by a specified date to
approve applications for small wind energy systems by right if
certain conditions are met by the applicants.
The Senate amendments :
1)Specify that the provisions of this measure only apply to
counties.
2)Define "system height" as the higher of either the height of
the tower and the system measured to the top of the blade at
the 12 o'clock position or the highest point of the system
extended above the existing grade when being operated.
3)Clarify that a county may establish a process for the issuance
of conditional use permits for small wind energy systems
located outside an urbanized area, subject to specified
conditions.
4)Clarify that an application for the installation of a small
wind energy system submitted between January 1, 2011, and the
date of the county's adoption of an ordinance that meets
specified conditions shall be approved through a ministerial
permit by a county.
5)Revise the tower heights for parcels as follows:
a) For parcels of one to five acres the tower shall be no
more than 80 feet; and,
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b) For parcels above five acres the tower height shall be
no more than 100 feet.
6)State that a county may, if it deems it necessary due to
circumstances specific to the proposed installation, require
an applicant to provide notice by placing a display
advertisement of at least one-eighth of a page in at least one
newspaper of general circulation within the county in which
the installation is proposed.
7)Clarify that a county may require as a condition of approval
that a small wind energy system be removed if it remains
inoperable for 12 consecutive months, and at that time the
small wind energy system shall be subject to nuisance codes
and code enforcement action.
8)Remove language regarding the R-2515 restricted airspace.
9)State that if a county receives an application to install a
small wind energy system on a site that is within 1,000 feet
of a military installation within special use airspace or
beneath a low-level flight path, then the county shall
promptly provide a copy of the application to the appropriate
Armed Forces Branch.
10)State that if the governing authority of any military
installation, special use airspace, or low-level flight path
provides written comments regarding that application, the
county shall consider those comments before acting on the
application.
11)Require the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (CEC) to submit certain information to
the Assembly and Senate Local Government Committees and the
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee by January 1, 2016,
regarding: a) number of ordinances adopted on or after
January 1, 2011, by county; b)number of applications received
and approved during that period; c) tower heights, system
heights, parcel sizes, and generating capacities approved
during that period; and, d) CEC recommendations for
continuation, modification, or termination of the requirements
in this bill.
12)Add a sunset clause of January 1, 2017.
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EXISTING LAW provides, under the Planning and Zoning Law, for
the adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, and
regulations by a city, county, or city and county.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Stated that the implementation of consistent statewide
standards for the installation of small wind energy systems is
a matter of statewide concern, and that it is the
Legislature's intent that the provisions of this bill apply to
all local agencies, including, but not limited to, charter
cities, charter counties, and charter cities and counties.
2)Defined "small wind energy system" as a wind energy conversion
system consisting of a wind turbine, a tower, and associated
controls, with a rated capacity of not more than 50 kilowatts
per customer site and that will be used primarily to reduce
onsite consumption of utility power.
3)Defined an "urbanized area" as any urban location that meets
the definition used by the United State Department of
Commerce's Bureau of Census for "urban" and includes locations
with core census block groups containing at least 1,000 people
per square mile and surrounding census block groups containing
at least 500 people per square mile.
4)Stated that if a local agency chooses to regulate the
installation of small wind energy systems in the jurisdiction
outside of "urbanized areas" it shall adopt an ordinance and
follow the procedures established in this measure.
5)Authorized a local agency to establish a process for the
issuance of conditional use permits for small wind energy
systems that is consistent with the Permit Streamlining Act
and the Mitigation Fee Act.
6)Stated that an application for the installation of a small
wind energy system submitted between July 1, 2010, and the
date of the local agency's adoption of an ordinance that meets
specified conditions shall be approved through a
nondiscretionary administrative action by a local agency.
7)Authorized the local agency to impose conditions on the
installation of small wind energy systems that include, but
are not limited to, notice, tower height, setback, view
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protection, aesthetics, aviation, and design safety
requirements.
8)Prohibited local agencies from imposing conditions that are
more restrictive than the following:
a) The parcel where the system is located shall be at least
one acre in size and located outside an urbanized area;
b) Notice to property owners within 300 feet of the
property where the system will be located;
c) Tower heights for parcels of between one acre and five
acres shall be no more than
100 feet, and tower heights for parcels for more than five
acres shall not exceed the applicable limits established by
the Federal Aviation Administration;
d) Setbacks shall be no farther from the property line than
the height of the system, provided that it also apply with
applicable fire setback requirements;
e) Noise levels for the system shall be no greater than
either 60 decibels or any existing maximum noise levels,
whichever is lower;
f) The system shall not substantially obstruct views of
adjacent property owners and shall be placed or constructed
below any major ridgeline when visible from and scenic
highway corridor;
g) The turbine must have been approved by the CEC as
qualifying under the Emerging Renewables Fund or certified
by a national program recognized and approved by CEC;
h) The application shall include standard drawings and an
engineering analysis of the tower showing compliance with
the Uniform Building Code or the California Building
Standards Code, and certification by a licensed
professional mechanical, structural, or civil engineer;
i) The application must demonstrate that the system is
designed to meet the most stringent wind requirements, and
the requirements for the worst seismic class and the
weakest soil class in order to be exempt from having a wet
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stamp;
j) The system shall comply with all applicable Federal
Aeronautics Administration standards; and,
aa) The application must include a line drawing of the
electrical components that show conformity with the
National Electric Code.
9)Authorized the local agency to require the applicant to
demonstrate that the system will be used primarily to reduce
onsite consumption of utility power, and to require the
applicant to inform the local electric utility service
provider of intent to install the system.
10)Prohibited allowing a system to be installed where otherwise
prohibited by a local coastal program, the California Coastal
Commission, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, an
airport land use commission, the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake
Fault Zoning Act, a designated scenic highway corridor, or the
terms of a conservation easement, open-space easement,
agricultural easement, Williamson Act contract or by listing
in the National Register of Historic Places or the California
Register of Historical Resources.
11)Stated that if the governing authority of the restricted
military airspace known as "R-2515" files a detailed diagram
of that restricted military airspace with a local agency, and
if a local agency receives an application to install a small
wind energy system on a site that is within that restricted
military airspace, then the local agency shall promptly
forward a copy of that application to the governing authority
of that restricted military airspace.
12)Required the local agency to consider any written comments
made by the governing authority of the restricted military
airspace known as "R-2515" before acting on the application.
13)Required the local agency to take reasonable steps to notify
pest control aircraft pilots if a system is proposed in an
agricultural area.
14)Authorized a local agency to provide notice of a proposed
system installation in a general circulation newspaper if the
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agency deems it necessary.
15)Authorized a local agency to require a small wind energy
system to be removed if it remains inoperable for 12
consecutive months.
16)Stated that it is the policy of the state to promote and
encourage the use of distributed renewable energy systems and
to limit obstacles to their use, and it is the intent of the
Legislature that local agencies encourage the installation of
distributed renewable energy systems by removing obstacles to,
and minimizing costs of, permitting distributed renewable
energy systems.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee staff
estimates that the cost for CEC to gather information and
develop the report required under the bill will take about 25%
of one personnel year and 50% of one personnel year to develop
the report.
COMMENTS : Small wind energy systems are defined under the CEC
Emerging Renewables Program (ERP) as "small,
electricity-producing, wind-driven generating systems with a
rated output of 50 kilowatts or less." These systems are a very
cost-effective tool for a buyer who has adequate wind resources
and adequate space.
ERP provides buy down subsidies to encourage the installation of
small wind systems, and enables small wind systems to compete as
a viable distributed renewable energy resource.
Several areas of the state, most notably the high desert of the
Tehachapi region and the Bay-Delta, have excellent wind
resources. Where adequate wind resources are readily available,
small wind systems costs a consumer roughly half as much per
kilowatt hour compared to photovoltaic solar systems.
According to the author's office, the most common challenge to
small wind installations are not their cost, but rather, either
inadequate or overly burdensome permitting processes. In
response to these permitting problems, AB 1207 (Longville),
Chapter 562, Statutes of 2001, was enacted to establish
standards for the installation of small wind systems and
authorized local agencies to adopt small wind ordinances
consistent with those standards by July 1, 2002. The bill
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required any jurisdiction that did not adopt an ordinance by
that deadline to approve complying systems by right. The
provisions of AB 1207 sunsetted on July 1, 2005. This bill
reenacts some of the provisions of AB 1207. Specifically, this
bill states that if a local agency chooses to regulate the
installation of small wind energy systems in the jurisdiction
outside of "urbanized areas", it shall adopt an ordinance and
follow specific procedures identified in this measure in order
to ensure that local agencies are not applying overly
restrictive requirements on the installation of small wind
energy systems.
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
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