Riverside County — Wireless & Energy Facilities

Wireless Facilities

Chapter 17.277 — Wireless Facilities seeks to expand service while reducing visual, biological, and other impacts. It favors use of existing facilities and structures, including collocation and concealment, and calls for ongoing maintenance and removal of obsolete facilities. § 17.277.010

A wireless facility includes transmitters, antenna structures, towers, support structures, and base stations used to provide fixed-location wireless service. A tower is built primarily to support antennas; a utility pole is not a tower. § 17.277.030

Concealed wireless facilities are integrated so they are not recognizable as wireless infrastructure—for example, screened rooftop equipment, façade features, clock towers, or entry signs. Disguised wireless facilities use visual integration, such as monopalms, flagpoles, water towers, streetlights, utility poles, or strand-mounted antennas. § 17.277.030

Residential zone classifications

For Chapter 17.277, A-1 lots 2.5 acres and smaller, R-T-R, C-R, C/V, R-3, R-3-A, R-5, R-R, R-R-O, R-A, R-1, R-1-A, R-2, R-2-A, R-4, R-6, and R-T are the defined residential zone classifications. § 17.277.030

The supplied materials use this group chiefly to set the exempt amateur-radio height ceiling of 50 ft. They do not establish a Chapter 17.277 district-by-district wireless use table, setbacks, or a separate purpose statement for each named district. For parcel development standards, consult Riverside County Development Standards and verify the mapped zone. § 17.277.020(B)(3); § 17.12.030

Non-residential zone classifications

For Chapter 17.277, R-D, I-P, M-SC, M-M, M-H, M-R, M-R-A, MU, N-A, A-1 lots larger than 2.5 acres, A-P, A-2, A-D, W-2, W-2-M, W-1, W-E, R-VC, C-1/C-P, C-T, C-P-S, C-O, and C-C/V are the defined non-residential zone classifications. § 17.277.030

The supplied materials use this group chiefly to set the exempt amateur-radio height ceiling of 105 ft. They do not establish separate Chapter 17.277 permitted-use, setback, or dimensional rules for every listed classification; verify the parcel’s applicable Riverside County Land Use and zoning rules. § 17.277.020(B)(3)

Exempt consumer, amateur, replacement, and temporary facilities

A qualifying satellite dish, over-the-air broadcast antenna, or broadband radio antenna can be exempt from Chapter 17.277 when it is no higher than needed for acceptable service and no more than 12 ft above the roofline; the dish or broadband antenna must be 1 meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement, as applicable. § 17.277.020(A)

An amateur antenna enclosed in a permitted building, or a single wire no more than 1/4 inch in diameter, is exempt under the specified conditions. A qualifying wire may occupy a setback but cannot exceed the district’s maximum building height; a qualifying ground-mounted pole/whip must remain outside required setbacks. § 17.277.020(B)

Like-kind changes within an approved cabinet, vault, or shroud may be exempt where they do not increase visual or noise impacts and have the same or lower RF emissions. The exemption does not cover generators. § 17.277.020(C)

For a large-scale event or temporary relocation of an approved facility, a temporary facility placed for fewer than 14 consecutive days is exempt if necessary approvals and written landowner consent are provided. § 17.277.020(D) A temporary wireless facility otherwise defined by the chapter may last up to 6 months, or longer if the county allows it for the event or emergency, and must meet its height, FAA-notice, marking, and excavation criteria. § 17.277.030

Existing facilities, modifications, and exceptions

A wireless facility lawfully constructed and operating before the revised ordinance’s effective date remains under the earlier ordinance until a revised permit, substantial-conformance approval, or other modification is approved. The revised rules then apply going forward to that facility. § 17.277.020(E)

The board of supervisors may grant a Chapter 17.277 exception only where a variance is unavailable and strict compliance would effectively prohibit personal wireless service, violate applicable law, or require a technically infeasible design. Any waiver must be limited to the minimum necessary. § 17.277.090

Project-specific visual treatment may overlap with Riverside County Design Review, Riverside County Overlay Districts, and Riverside County Landscaping and Screening; the source materials do not state that Chapter 17.277 independently imposes those programs.

Wind Energy Conversion Systems

W-E — Wind Energy Resource Zone

The W-E district is Riverside County’s specialized wind-energy zone. Its stated intent is to recognize areas with strong prevailing winds and limited development that are suited to large-scale wind development, consistent with the county general plan’s alternative-energy objectives. § 17.164.010

Commercial WECS and WECS arrays are permitted without a stated rated-power limit after issuance of a commercial WECS permit under Chapter 17.224. § 17.164.020(D) Accessory WECS are also allowed with an accessory WECS permit. § 17.164.020(E)

A solar power plant requires a conditional use permit and must be on a lot of at least 10 acres. Electrical storage primarily serving permitted WECS or public utility uses, certain electrical transmission, equipment storage, maintenance structures, and unpaid caretaker/watchman dwellings require plot-plan approval. § 17.164.020(F)–(G)

The supplied materials do not state base lot size, ordinary building setbacks, or a general WECS height number for W-E. Verify the mapped zoning, permit conditions, applicable Riverside County Specific Plan Zones, and whether another overlay applies. § 17.12.030

Commercial WECS permit submittal

A commercial WECS application must include ownership authorization, a detailed plot/development plan, utility-interconnection information, technical turbine and tower data, and a geotechnical report. The site plan must address structures, power lines, topography, grading, vegetation removal, wind direction, setbacks, circulation, and access from the nearest county-maintained road. § 17.224.030(A)–(F)

The application also requires a map of dwellings within 1/2 mile of the property boundary, airport-radar analysis, and—when triggered—FAA notice for turbines over 200 ft or within 20,000 ft of an airport runway. Notices are also required for a microwave link within 2 miles, and a floodplain report is required for a project within a mapped 100-year floodplain. § 17.224.030(G)–(M)

Commercial WECS siting, safety, and operation

Commercial tower-center setbacks include 1.25 times total height from aboveground transmission lines over 12 kV, public roads/highways/railroads, and most lot lines; 1.5 times total height or 500 ft, whichever is greater, from qualifying arterial-or-greater roads; and 3 times total height or 500 ft, whichever is greater, from a lot containing a habitable dwelling. § 17.224.040(A)

Downwind wind access requires 5 rotor diameters from designated lot lines. A recorded agreement lasting 25 years or the permit life, whichever is longer, or qualifying downwind-property characteristics can support an alternative setback. § 17.224.040(B)

Commercial arrays are barred from defined locations east of Indian Avenue or north of Pierson Boulevard and its extension west of Highway 62, and from the described Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument area south of I-10 or Highway 111. Scenic-highway setbacks range from 500 ft to 1,000 ft, 2/3 mile, or 1/4 mile, depending on road and turbine height. § 17.224.040(C)

Commercial systems need measures preventing unauthorized access, marked guy wires, English- and Spanish-language hazard signs, and at least 25 ft of ground clearance for a horizontal-axis rotor. A vertical-axis rotor below 15 ft requires a fence or barrier. § 17.224.040(D)

The county can require fire-control measures, including 30 ft perimeter vegetation clearance, a 10 ft radius around transformers and towers, and 30 ft around buildings. Project-site distribution lines must be underground to the low-voltage side of the step-up transformer or on-site-substation utility interface point. § 17.224.040(F); § 17.224.040(M)

A commercial permit cannot issue without the specified no-study setback pathway or compliance with projected noise limits. The standard projected level is 55 dB(A) at the defined receptor, reduced by 5 dB(A) where pure-tone noise is projected; ordinary operation cannot exceed 60 dB(A) at the stated receptor unless conditions impose a tighter limit. § 17.224.040(L)

Unsafe, expired, or inoperable commercial WECS must be removed and the site restored as feasible; security may be required. A post-July 23, 1985 system is inoperable when its production falls below 60% of projected quarterly production per turbine for the preceding two calendar quarters, unless qualifying repairs or modernization will finish within 6 months. § 17.224.040(H)

Accessory WECS in any zone

An accessory WECS permit follows Chapter 17.216 procedures and requires a drawing or photo, technical system and tower information, proof of utility-interconnection notice, the site’s dominant wind direction, and a concurrent height-limit application where required. § 17.224.080; § 17.224.090

The rotor must clear the ground by at least 15 ft. Access must be restricted through a climbing apparatus at least 12 ft above ground, a locking anticlimb device, or a fenced enclosure at least 6 ft high with locking portals. § 17.224.100(A); § 17.224.100(E)

Accessory tower-center setbacks are 1.25 times total height from lines over 12 kV, public roads/highways/railroads, and most lot lines; 1.5 times total height from qualifying arterial-or-greater roads; and 3 times total height from a lot containing a habitable dwelling. § 17.224.100(B) Downwind wind access is 5 rotor diameters, subject to the stated recorded-agreement or site-characteristic alternative. § 17.224.100(C)

Accessory systems have the same stated location prohibitions near Indian Avenue/Pierson Boulevard and the specified National Monument area. They must use underground electrical distribution lines, post high-voltage warnings in English and Spanish 3 to 5 ft above ground, avoid communications interference, and meet the 60 dB(A) receiver-based noise cap. § 17.224.100(D); § 17.224.100(J)–(L)

An unsafe accessory system or one inoperable for 6 months is a public nuisance subject to abatement. The system must also comply with applicable National Electrical Code provisions, including grounding. § 17.224.100(N)–(O)

Solar Energy Systems

Chapter 17.296 is titled Solar Energy Systems, but the supplied materials contain no operative sections from that chapter. Accordingly, solar-system permit pathways, setbacks, height limits, screening, and technical standards under Chapter 17.296 are Not found in source materials.

The supplied materials do establish one utility-scale solar rule: in W-E, a solar power plant on a lot of 10 acres or larger requires a conditional use permit. § 17.164.020(G)(2) They also establish that electrical-energy storage or transmission facilities may be allowed in any zone with a public use permit where the county is not preempted from regulating them, and those facilities are not subject to the host zone’s development standards. § 17.208.010(2)

Building and structural requirements are separate from the land-use findings discussed here; confirm applicable work under the California Building Standards Code. § 17.224.100(M)

Checklist

• Confirm that the parcel is in unincorporated Riverside County and identify its mapped zone. § 17.12.030
• Determine whether the proposal is a commercial WECS, accessory WECS, solar power plant, energy-storage/transmission facility, or wireless facility. § 17.164.020; § 17.224.070; § 17.277.030
• For commercial wind, prepare the ownership authorization, site/access plan, interconnection materials, turbine specifications, geotechnical analysis, dwelling map, and any triggered airport, microwave, or floodplain documentation. § 17.224.030
• For accessory wind, submit the Chapter 17.216 materials plus WECS/tower specifications, utility notice, wind direction, and any concurrent height request. § 17.224.080; § 17.224.090
• Measure all WECS setbacks from the tower center using total WECS height, including the blade-at-12-o’clock measurement for horizontal-axis systems. § 17.224.040(A); § 17.224.100(B)
• Demonstrate wind-access, scenic-resource, access-control, fire, electrical, noise, and engineering compliance as applicable. § 17.224.040(B)–(M); § 17.224.100(C)–(O)
• For a W-E solar power plant, confirm a parcel of at least 10 acres and pursue a conditional use permit. § 17.164.020(G)(2)
• For wireless infrastructure, test whether the proposal fits a Chapter 17.277 exclusion before assuming a wireless entitlement is unnecessary. § 17.277.020
• Confirm whether Riverside County Parking, overlay, design-review, or other permit requirements apply; they are not fully established in the supplied materials.

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

In unincorporated Riverside County, a homeowner can potentially install a permitted small wind system in any zone, but it must meet strict safety, setback, noise, electrical, and engineering rules. Larger commercial wind projects are centered in the W-E wind-energy district and face detailed siting, environmental, access, fire, and noise requirements; a large solar power plant there needs at least 10 acres and a conditional use permit. § 17.224.070; § 17.224.100; § 17.164.020

Source References

• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.12.010 — county zone classifications.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.12.030 — mapped zoning districts in unincorporated areas.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.164.010 — wind energy resource-zone intent.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.164.020 — W-E permitted, plot-plan, and conditional uses.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.208.010(2) — energy-storage and transmission public-use permits.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.224.030–.040 — commercial WECS application and standards.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.224.070; § 17.224.080–.100 — accessory WECS applicability, procedure, application, and approval standards.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, § 17.277.010; § 17.277.020; § 17.277.030; § 17.277.090 — wireless purpose, exclusions, definitions, and exceptions.
• Riverside County Zoning Code, Chapter 17.296 — Solar Energy Systems — operative standards not found in source materials.