Public Act 0203 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0620 Enrolled LRB095 06649 HLH 26757 b

Public Act 095-0203

AN ACT concerning local government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by adding Section 5-12020 as follows:

(55 ILCS 5/5-12020 new)

Sec. 5-12020. Wind farms. A county may establish standards for wind farms and electric-generating wind devices. The standards may include, without limitation, the height of the devices and the number of devices that may be located within a geographic area. A county may also regulate the siting of wind farms and electric-generating wind devices in unincorporated areas of the county outside of the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and the 1.5 mile radius surrounding the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality. There shall be at least one public hearing not more than 30 days prior to a siting decision by the county board. Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Counties may allow test wind towers to be sited without formal approval by the county board. Test wind towers must be dismantled within 3 years of installation. For the purposes of this Section, "test wind towers" are wind towers that are designed solely to collect wind generation data. Any provision of a county zoning ordinance pertaining to wind farms that is in effect before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly may continue in effect notwithstanding any requirements of this Section.

Section 10. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by adding Section 11-13-26 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/11-13-26 new)

Sec. 11-13-26. Wind farms. A municipality may regulate wind farms and electric-generating wind devices within its zoning jurisdiction and within the 1.5 mile radius surrounding its zoning jurisdiction. There shall be at least one public hearing not more than 30 days prior to a siting decision by the corporate authorities of a municipality. Notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. A municipality may allow test wind towers to be sited without formal approval by the corporate authorities of the municipality. Test wind towers must be dismantled within 3 years of installation. For the purposes of this Section, "test wind towers" are wind towers that are designed solely to collect wind generation data.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.