Zoning Ordinance (pdf) - Cerro Gordo County online

GENERAL REGULATIONS Art. 6
accompanied by a certificate of approval from said Board of Health. The following minimum lot area and
frontage requirements for single family dwellings shall apply in such cases except in districts where the
said minimum for any single family dwelling is greater than those listed below.
No public sewer and water:
Public water supply, no public sewer:
Minimum area - 20,000 square feet
100 foot lot width
Minimum area - 10,000 square feet
80 foot lot width
6.27 STRUCTURES PERMITTED ABOVE HEIGHT LIMITS
The building height limitations of this Ordinance shall be modified as follows:
A. Chimneys, cooling towers, elevators, bulkheads, fire-towers, monuments, stacks, tanks, water towers,
ornamental towers and spires, commercial radio or television towers or necessary mechanical
appurtenances may be erected to the height approved by the Board of Adjustment.
B. Public, semi-public or public service building, hospitals, sanitariums or schools, when permitted in a
district may be erected to a height not exceeding sixty (60) feet, and churches and temples when
permitted in a district may be erected to a height not exceeding seventy-five (75) feet if the building is
set back from each property line at least one (1) foot for each foot of additional building height above
the height limit otherwise provided in the district in which the building is located.
C. Flag poles, light poles and similar single pole structures may be established within the required front
yard setback but may not be established in the required side and rear yard setbacks. The height of
such a structure shall not exceed thirty (30) feet in height without the Board of Adjustment approval.
D. Radio tower including base and guide wires may not be established in the required yard setbacks and
may not be established in the front of the front line of the principal building. The height of such a
structure shall not exceed sixty (60) feet in height, as measured to the highest point of the structure
including the antenna, without the approval of the Board of Adjustment. Private radio towers and
antennas not exceeding sixty (60) feet in height may be permitted in any agricultural or residential
district.
E. Wind energy systems that are accessory to a principal permitted use shall be permitted only in the A-1
and A-2 Districts, and on lots greater than 20,000 square feet in the R-1, R-4, C-2, C-3, M-1 and M-2
Districts subject to the following standards.
1. Wind energy systems located in the A-1 and A-2 Districts may be located anywhere on the lot in
conformance with these standards. Wind energy systems in any other district listed above shall
be located in a rear yard.
2. The base of the wind energy system shall be located a distance equal to the height of the tower
measured from its base to the height of the blade at its apex from any property line or road rightof-way
line. A lesser setback may be authorized by the Board of Adjustment if a structural
engineer, licensed in the State of Iowa, certifies in writing that the collapse of the system will occur
within a lesser distance under all foreseeable circumstances. Guy wire anchors shall be set back
from lot lines a distance equal to the setbacks required in the zoning district in which the wind
energy system is located.
3. In no case shall a wind energy system exceed a height of:
a. 80 feet on parcels of two (2) acres or less; and
b. 120 feet on parcels greater than two (2) acres.
4. Wind energy systems shall not exceed 60 dBA as measured at the closest neighboring inhabited
dwelling. This level may be exceeded during short-term events such as utility outages and/or
periods of high winds.
5. Wind turbines shall have been approved under a certification program or standards recognized by
the American Wind Energy Association.
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