§ 17.18.100. Abandonment or discontinuation of use.

A.

Removal Requirements. Any wind facility which has reached the end of its useful life or has been abandoned shall be removed. When the wind facility is scheduled to be decommissioned, the applicant shall notify the city by certified mail of the proposed date of discontinued operations and plans for removal. The owner/operator shall physically remove the wind facility no more than one hundred fifty days after the date of discontinued operations. At the time of removal, the wind facility site shall be restored to the state it was in before the facility was constructed or any other legally authorized use. More specifically, decommissioning shall consist of the following:

1.

Physical removal of all wind turbines, structures, equipment, security barriers and transmission lines from the site.

2.

Disposal of all solid and hazardous waste in accordance with local and state waste disposal regulations.

3.

Stabilization or re-vegetation of the site as necessary to minimize erosion. The city council may allow the owner to leave landscaping or designated below-grade foundations in order to minimize erosion and disruption to vegetation.

B.

Abandonment. Absent notice of a proposed date of decommissioning, the facility shall be considered abandoned when the facility fails to operate for more than one year without the written consent of the city council. The city council shall determine in its decision what proportion of the facility is inoperable for the facility to be considered abandoned. If the applicant fails to remove the wind facility in accordance with the requirements of this subsection within one hundred fifty days of abandonment or the proposed date of decommissioning, the city shall have the authority to enter the property and physically remove the facility.

C.

Financial Surety. The city council may require the applicant to provide, at the time of issuance of the building permit, a form of surety, either through escrow account, bond or otherwise, to cover the cost of removal in the event the city must remove the facility, in an amount and form determined to be reasonable by the city council, but in no event in excess of one hundred twenty-five percent of the cost of removal and compliance with the requirements of this subsection. Such surety will not be required for municipally or state owned facilities. The applicant shall submit a fully inclusive estimate of the costs associated with removal, prepared by a qualified engineer.

(C.O. 09-139, § 1, 9-21-2009)