HB4158 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 10330 RLJ 20500 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB4158

Introduced 2/27/2009, by Rep. James D. Brosnahan

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

65 ILCS 5/11-13-1	from Ch. 24, par. 11-13-1
65 ILCS 5/11-13-27 new
65 ILCS 5/11-13-28 new

Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides notice and hearing requirements for the erection of a telecommunication tower, an AM broadcast station, and a cell phone tower within a municipality. Provides that there shall be at least one public hearing prior to a decision by the corporate authorities of a municipality to approve the construction of a telecommunication tower, an AM broadcast station, or a cell phone tower. Provides that notice of any public hearing shall be sent by certified mail at least 30 days prior to the hearing to the owner of record of all residential property that is within 0.25 miles from the site of the proposed telecommunications facility, AM broadcast station, or cell phone tower. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning local government.

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

Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by changing Section 11-13-1 and by adding Sections 11-13-27 and 11-13-28 as follows:

(65 ILCS 5/11-13-1) (from Ch. 24, par. 11-13-1)

Sec. 11-13-1. To the end that adequate light, pure air, and safety from fire and other dangers may be secured, that the taxable value of land and buildings throughout the municipality may be conserved, that congestion in the public streets may be lessened or avoided, that the hazards to persons and damage to property resulting from the accumulation or runoff of storm or flood waters may be lessened or avoided, and that the public health, safety, comfort, morals, and welfare may otherwise be promoted, and to insure and facilitate the preservation of sites, areas, and structures of historical, architectural and aesthetic importance; the corporate authorities in each municipality have the following powers:

(1) to regulate and limit the height and bulk of buildings hereafter to be erected;

(2) to establish, regulate and limit, subject to the provisions of Division 14 of this Article 11, the building or set-back lines on or along any street, traffic-way, drive, parkway or storm or floodwater runoff channel or basin;

(3) to regulate and limit the intensity of the use of lot areas, and to regulate and determine the area of open spaces, within and surrounding such buildings;

(4) to classify, regulate and restrict the location of trades and industries and the location of buildings designed for specified industrial, business, residential, and other uses;

(5) to divide the entire municipality into districts of such number, shape, area, and of such different classes (according to use of land and buildings, height and bulk of buildings, intensity of the use of lot area, area of open spaces, or other classification) as may be deemed best suited to carry out the purposes of this Division 13;

(6) to fix standards to which buildings or structures therein shall conform;

(7) to prohibit uses, buildings, or structures incompatible with the character of such districts;

(8) to prevent additions to and alteration or remodeling of existing buildings or structures in such a way as to avoid the restrictions and limitations lawfully imposed under this Division 13;

(9) to classify, to regulate and restrict the use of property on the basis of family relationship, which family relationship may be defined as one or more persons each related to the other by blood, marriage or adoption and maintaining a common household;

(10) to regulate or forbid any structure or activity which may hinder access to solar energy necessary for the proper functioning of a solar energy system, as defined in Section 1.2 of the Comprehensive Solar Energy Act of 1977;

(11) to require the creation and preservation of affordable housing, including the power to provide increased density or other zoning incentives to developers who are creating, establishing, or preserving affordable housing; and

(12) to establish local standards solely for the review of the exterior design of buildings and structures, excluding utility facilities and outdoor off-premises advertising signs, and designate a board or commission to implement the review process.

The powers enumerated may be exercised within the corporate limits or within contiguous territory not more than one and one-half miles beyond the corporate limits and not included within any municipality. However, if any municipality adopts a plan pursuant to Division 12 of Article 11 which plan includes in its provisions a provision that the plan applies to such contiguous territory not more than one and one-half miles beyond the corporate limits and not included in any municipality, then no other municipality shall adopt a plan that shall apply to any territory included within the territory provided in the plan first so adopted by another municipality. No municipality shall exercise any power set forth in this Division 13 outside the corporate limits thereof, if the county in which such municipality is situated has adopted "An Act in relation to county zoning", approved June 12, 1935, as amended. Nothing in this Section prevents a municipality of more than 112,000 population located in a county of less than 185,000 population that has adopted a zoning ordinance and the county that adopted the zoning ordinance from entering into an intergovernmental agreement that allows the municipality to exercise its zoning powers beyond its territorial limits; provided, however, that the intergovernmental agreement must be limited to the territory within the municipality's planning jurisdiction as defined by law or any existing boundary agreement. The county and the municipality must amend their individual zoning maps in the same manner as other zoning changes are incorporated into revised zoning maps. No such intergovernmental agreement may authorize a municipality to exercise its zoning powers, other than powers that a county may exercise under Section 5-12001 of the Counties Code, with respect to land used for agricultural purposes. This amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly is declarative of existing law. No municipality may exercise any power set forth in this Division 13 outside the corporate limits of the municipality with respect to a facility of a telecommunications carrier defined in Section 5-12001.1 of the Counties Code.

Before the approval or rejection of a telecommunications facility (as defined in Section 5-12001.1 of the Counties Code) to be erected within a municipality's boundaries, the municipality shall give notice of the proposed erection site. There shall be at least one public hearing prior to a decision by the corporate authorities of the municipality. Notice of any such public hearing shall be published at least 30 days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation published in the municipality. Notice of any public hearing shall also be sent by certified mail at least 30 days prior to the hearing to the owner of record of all residential property that is within 0.25 miles from the site upon which the telecommunications facility is proposed to be sited. For the purposes of this notice requirement, "owner" means the person or entity identified from the authentic tax records of the county in which the telecommunications facility is to be located. The notice requirement applies regardless of whether the owner of record owns property within the municipality.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, at least 30 days prior to commencing construction of a new telecommunications facility within 1.5 miles of a municipality, the telecommunications carrier constructing the facility shall provide written notice of its intent to construct the facility. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: (i) the name, address, and telephone number of the company responsible for the construction of the facility and (ii) the address and telephone number of the governmental entity that issued the building permit for the telecommunications facility. The notice shall be provided in person, by overnight private courier, or by certified mail to all owners of property within 250 feet of the parcel in which the telecommunications carrier has a leasehold or ownership interest. For the purposes of this notice requirement, "owners" means those persons or entities identified from the authentic tax records of the county in which the telecommunications facility is to be located. If, after a bona fide effort by the telecommunications carrier to determine the owner and his or her address, the owner of the property on whom the notice must be served cannot be found at the owner's last known address, or if the mailed notice is returned because the owner cannot be found at the last known address, the notice requirement of this paragraph is deemed satisfied. For the purposes of this paragraph, "facility" means that term as it is defined in Section 5-12001.1 of the Counties Code.

If a municipality adopts a zoning plan covering an area outside its corporate limits, the plan adopted shall be reasonable with respect to the area outside the corporate limits so that future development will not be hindered or impaired; it is reasonable for a municipality to regulate or prohibit the extraction of sand, gravel, or limestone even when those activities are related to an agricultural purpose. If all or any part of the area outside the corporate limits of a municipality which has been zoned in accordance with the provisions of this Division 13 is annexed to another municipality or municipalities, the annexing unit shall thereafter exercise all zoning powers and regulations over the annexed area.

In all ordinances passed under the authority of this Division 13, due allowance shall be made for existing conditions, the conservation of property values, the direction of building development to the best advantage of the entire municipality and the uses to which the property is devoted at the time of the enactment of such an ordinance. The powers conferred by this Division 13 shall not be exercised so as to deprive the owner of any existing property of its use or maintenance for the purpose to which it is then lawfully devoted, but provisions may be made for the gradual elimination of uses, buildings and structures which are incompatible with the character of the districts in which they are made or located, including, without being limited thereto, provisions (a) for the elimination of such uses of unimproved lands or lot areas when the existing rights of the persons in possession thereof are terminated or when the uses to which they are devoted are discontinued; (b) for the elimination of uses to which such buildings and structures are devoted, if they are adaptable for permitted uses; and (c) for the elimination of such buildings and structures when they are destroyed or damaged in major part, or when they have reached the age fixed by the corporate authorities of the municipality as the normal useful life of such buildings or structures.

This amendatory Act of 1971 does not apply to any municipality which is a home rule unit.

(Source: P.A. 94-303, eff. 7-21-05; 95-475, eff. 1-1-08.)

(65 ILCS 5/11-13-27 new)

Sec. 11-13-27. AM broadcast station towers. Before the approval or rejection of an AM broadcast station tower to be erected within a municipality's boundaries, the municipality shall give notice of the proposed erection site. There shall be at least one public hearing prior to a decision by the corporate authorities of the municipality. Notice of any such public hearing shall be published at least 30 days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation published in the municipality. Notice of any public hearing shall also be sent by certified mail at least 30 days prior to the hearing to the owner of record of all residential property that is within 0.25 miles from the site upon which the AM broadcast station tower is proposed to be sited. For the purposes of this notice requirement, "owner" means the person or entity identified from the authentic tax records of the county in which the AM broadcast station tower is to be located. The notice requirement applies regardless of whether the owner of record owns property within the municipality.

(65 ILCS 5/11-13-28 new)

Sec. 11-13-28. Cell phone towers. Before the approval or rejection of a cell phone tower to be erected within a municipality's boundaries, the municipality shall give notice of the proposed erection site. There shall be at least one public hearing prior to a decision by the corporate authorities of the municipality. Notice of any such public hearing shall be published at least 30 days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation published in the municipality. Notice of any public hearing shall also be sent by certified mail at least 30 days prior to the hearing to the owner of record of all residential property that is within 0.25 miles from the site upon which the cell phone tower is proposed to be sited. For the purposes of this notice requirement, "owner" means the person or entity identified from the authentic tax records of the county in which the cell phone tower is to be located. The notice requirement applies regardless of whether the owner of record owns property within the municipality.

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