Bill Text: IL HB4135 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county may require a commercial solar energy facility to be sited 500 feet (rather than 50 feet) to the nearest point on the property line of a nonparticipating property and 500 feet (rather than 150 feet) from the nearest point on the outside wall of an occupied community building or dwelling on nonparticipating properties.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2025-01-07 - Session Sine Die [HB4135 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4135-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4135 Introduced , by Rep. Anthony DeLuca SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-12020
Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county may require a commercial solar energy facility to be sited 500 feet (rather than 50 feet) to the nearest point on the property line of a nonparticipating property and 500 feet (rather than 150 feet) from the nearest point on the outside wall of an occupied community building or dwelling on nonparticipating properties.
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A BILL FOR
HB4135 LRB103 34278 AWJ 64104 b
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 changing
Section 5-12020 as follows:
(55 ILCS 5/5-12020)
Sec. 5-12020. Commercial wind energy facilities and
commercial solar energy facilities.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial
solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the
Property Tax Code. "Commercial solar energy facility" does not
mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed
at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement
event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to
subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
Act.
"Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
total nameplate generating capacity. "Commercial wind energy
facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking
an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or
municipality before the effective date of this amendatory Act

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of the 102nd General Assembly.
"Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct
ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of
whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary
rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the
construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the
time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as
a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights,
permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and
operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person
will own or operate the facility.
"Nonparticipating property" means real property that is
not a participating property.
"Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is
located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and
occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Occupied community building" means any one or more of the
following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date
that the application for a permit to develop the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
is filed with the county: a school, place of worship, day care
facility, public library, or community center.
"Participating property" means real property that is the

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subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and
the owner of the real property that provides the facility
owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real
property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind
energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or
supporting facilities. "Participating property" also includes
real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose
of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a
commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
"Participating residence" means a residence that is
located on participating property and that is existing and
occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
solar energy facility is filed with the county.
"Protected lands" means real property that is:
(1) subject to a permanent conservation right
consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
or
(2) registered or designated as a nature preserve,
buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois
Natural Areas Preservation Act.
"Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines,
substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage
containers, and equipment associated with the generation and
storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility
or commercial solar energy facility.

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"Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and
blades.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether
the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal
zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards
for commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy
facilities, or both. The standards may include all of the
requirements specified in this Section but may not include
requirements for commercial wind energy facilities or
commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive
than specified in this Section. A county may also regulate the
siting of commercial wind energy facilities with standards
that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified
in this Section in unincorporated areas of the county that are
outside the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and that are
outside the 1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning
jurisdiction of a municipality.
(c) If a county has elected to establish standards under
subsection (b), before the county grants siting approval or a
special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an
approved siting or special use permit, the county board of the
county in which the facility is to be sited or the zoning board
of appeals for the county shall hold at least one public
hearing. The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance
with the Open Meetings Act and shall be held not more than 45

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days after the filing of the application for the facility. The
county shall allow interested parties to a special use permit
an opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine
witnesses at the hearing, but the county may impose reasonable
restrictions on the public hearing, including reasonable time
limitations on the presentation of evidence and the
cross-examination of witnesses. The county shall also allow
public comment at the public hearing in accordance with the
Open Meetings Act. The county shall make its siting and
permitting decisions not more than 30 days after the
conclusion of the public hearing. Notice of the hearing shall
be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county. A facility owner must enter into an agricultural
impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture
prior to the date of the required public hearing. A commercial
wind energy facility owner seeking an extension of a permit
granted by a county prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date
of Public Act 99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact
mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior
to a decision by the county to grant the permit extension.
Counties may allow test wind towers or test solar energy
systems to be sited without formal approval by the county
board.
(d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict
with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in
compliance with this Section within 120 days after the

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effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly.
(e) A county may require:
(1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured
from the center of the base of the wind tower:
Setback Description Setback Distance
Occupied Community 2.1 times the maximum blade tip
Buildings height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Participating Residences 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Nonparticipating Residences 2.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the outside
wall of the structure
Boundary Lines of None
Participating Property

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Boundary Lines of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
Nonparticipating Property height of the wind tower to the
nearest point on the property
line of the nonparticipating
property
Public Road Rights-of-Way 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
height of the wind tower
to the center point of the
public road right-of-way
Overhead Communication and 1.1 times the maximum blade tip
Electric Transmission height of the wind tower to the
and Distribution Facilities nearest edge of the property
(Not Including Overhead line, easement, or right of way
Utility Service Lines to containing the overhead line
Individual Houses or
Outbuildings)
Overhead Utility Service None
Lines to Individual
Houses or Outbuildings
Fish and Wildlife Areas 2.1 times the maximum blade
and Illinois Nature tip height of the wind tower

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Preserve Commission to the nearest point on the
Protected Lands property line of the fish and
wildlife area or protected
land
This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with
electric facility clearances approved or required by the
National Electrical Code, The National Electrical Safety
Code, Illinois Commerce Commission, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, and their designees or successors.
(2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling
indicates that any occupied community building or
nonparticipating residence will not experience more than
30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned
operating conditions;
(3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as
follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest
edge of any component of the facility:
Setback Description Setback Distance
Occupied Community 500 150 feet from the nearest
Buildings and Dwellings on point on the outside wall
Nonparticipating Properties of the structure

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Boundary Lines of None
Participating Property
Public Road Rights-of-Way 50 feet from the nearest
edge
Boundary Lines of 500 50 feet to the nearest
Nonparticipating Property point on the property
line of the nonparticipating
property
(4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing
having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25
feet; and
(5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
that no component of a solar panel has a height of more
than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's
arrays are at full tilt.
The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be
waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each
affected nonparticipating property.
(f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers
in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in
commercial solar energy facility that is more restrictive than
the sound limitations established by the Illinois Pollution

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Control Board under 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 900, 901, and 910.
(g) A county may not place any restriction on the
installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance
that complies with this Section. A county may not establish
siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude
development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial
solar energy facilities.
A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use
permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with
the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning
ordinance adopted consistent with this Code, and the
conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and
regulations.
(h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that
disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy
facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being
developed or operated in any district zoned to allow
agricultural or industrial uses.
(i) A county may not require permit application fees for a
commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy
facility that are unreasonable. All application fees imposed
by the county shall be consistent with fees for projects in the
county with similar capital value and cost.

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(j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county
shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning,
or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or
commercial solar energy facility or related financial
assurances that are more restrictive than those included in
the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm
agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or
standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement,
version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on December 31,
2022. The amount of any decommissioning payment shall be
limited to the cost identified in the decommissioning or
deconstruction plan, as required by those agricultural impact
mitigation agreements, minus the salvage value of the project.
(k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial
wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a
property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner
to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
(l) A county may require certain vegetative screening
surrounding a commercial wind energy facility or commercial
solar energy facility but may not require earthen berms or
similar structures.
(m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind
towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a
blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the
height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air
Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR

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Part 77.
(n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy
facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner
provide:
(1) the results and recommendations from consultation
with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are
obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool
(EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool; and
(2) the results of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service's Information for Planning and Consulting
environmental review or a comparable successor tool that
is consistent with (i) the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines" and (ii) any
applicable United States Fish and Wildlife Service solar
wildlife guidelines that have been subject to public
review.
(o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility
or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the
recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17
Ill. Admin. Code Part 1075.
(p) A county may require a facility owner to:
(1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as
identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission; or
(2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois

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Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from
protected lands, including areas identified by the
Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
(q) A county may require that a facility owner provide
evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic
Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on
State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State
Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
(r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not
limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion
at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil
health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds,
songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a
commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish,
and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground
cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly
Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation
management plan in the application to construct and operate a
commercial solar energy facility in the county.
No later than 90 days after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for
vegetation management plans that may be required under this
subsection for commercial solar energy facilities. The
guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term
property management practices that provide and maintain native

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and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect
the health and well-being of pollinators.
(s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement
with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road
district, or other unit of local government relating to a
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility
owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of
improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the
commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy
facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used
by the facility owner during construction of the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the
driving public after the completion of the facility's
construction. Roadways improved in preparation for and during
the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or
commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and
restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of
the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as
a result of construction-related activities.
The road use agreement shall not require the facility
owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not
specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of
the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
energy facility. Road-related fees, permit fees, or other

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charges imposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation,
a road district, or other unit of local government under a road
use agreement with the facility owner shall be reasonably
related to the cost of administration of the road use
agreement.
(t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility
owner with siting approval from a county to construct a
commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system,
including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage
districts, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or
under the control of a drainage district under the Illinois
Drainage Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval
from the drainage district, except that the facility owner
shall repair or pay for the repair of all damage to the
drainage system caused by the construction of the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
within a reasonable time after construction of the commercial
wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
is complete.
(u) The amendments to this Section adopted in Public Act
102-1123 do not apply to: (1) an application for siting
approval or for a special use permit for a commercial wind
energy facility or commercial solar energy facility if the
application was submitted to a unit of local government before
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General

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Assembly; (2) a commercial wind energy facility or a
commercial solar energy facility if the facility owner has
submitted an agricultural impact mitigation agreement to the
Department of Agriculture before the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly; or (3) a
commercial wind energy or commercial solar energy development
on property that is located within an enterprise zone
certified under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, that was
classified as industrial by the appropriate zoning authority
on or before January 27, 2023, and that is located within 4
miles of the intersection of Interstate 88 and Interstate 39.
(Source: P.A. 102-1123, eff. 1-27-23; 103-81, eff. 6-9-23.)