§ 11-118. Standards.

The following standards shall be applied to all solid waste management facilities subject to this article:

(1)

Buffering. At a minimum, all such facilities shall provide a buffer zone consistent with the requirements of the Polk County Land Development Code. The applicant shall propose an appropriate buffer, landscape type and planting requirements as part of the application submitted to the board for approval. Additional buffering may be recommended at any stage of the application review process, or by the board if it deems necessary to meet the intent of this article including, without limitation, an increased landscaped buffer zone, spatial separations, lakes, berms or a combination thereof as the board shall determine.

(2)

Performance standards. All such facilities shall comply with applicable performance standards specified in the Polk County Land Development Code.

(3)

Minimum distance requirements. No new facility shall be constructed in closer proximity to specified land uses or designated areas than the minimum distances as follows:

(a)

Within one-half (½) mile of lands which are, at the time of initial application, in residential use at a density in excess of two (2) units per acre;

(b)

Within one-half (½) mile of any school or hospital;

(c)

Within two hundred (200) feet of any body of water (except canals used to lower on-site water tables, borrow pits and other bodies of water contained completely within the site); and

(d)

Within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of any wellhead supplying a public water system of a public or private utility company.

(4)

Excluded areas. No such facility shall be constructed in any selected area plan (SAP) district identified in the Polk County Land Development Code, unless the SAP district identifies solid waste management facilities as a permitted or conditional use in the district.

(5)

Setbacks. Placement of structures and operating areas shall at a minimum conform to applicable setbacks provided in the Polk County Land Development Code. Additional setbacks may be required by the board if it deems necessary to meet the intent of this article.

(6)

Other standards. All such facilities must be located within five (5) miles of a full-service fire station. The provision of on-site fire/rescue capability acceptable to the county fire marshal may exempt a proposed facility from this requirement.

(7)

Financial responsibility. The owner and the operator, as a prerequisite to the operation of a solid waste management facility in Polk County, shall be bonded or insured to guarantee the financial responsibility of both the owner and operator for any liability which may be incurred in the operation of the facility and to provide that, upon closure, abandonment, or interruption of operation of the facility for any reason, all appropriate measures are taken to prevent or remediate damage to human health, safety, and welfare; the environment; and private and public property. To the extent that these financial responsibilities are addressed through the state and federal permitting requirements, the applicable portion of the financial responsibility requirement may be satisfied through the financial requirements of the state and federal programs; however, in granting approval to a facility pursuant to this article, the board may require additional, reasonable bonding or environmental impairment insurance as deemed necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

Cash, surety bonds, environmental impairment insurance, or casualty insurance, or a combination thereof, acceptable to the board, may be used to satisfy the financial responsibility requirement. Any bond or insurance obtained to satisfy this requirement shall be maintained in the amount established by the board, with Polk County listed as an additional insured, and shall be maintained until the board determines that the owner and operator have satisfactorily closed the facility, any contamination has been remediated to the point that FDEP requires no further action and until the board authorizes cancellation, modification, or liquidation of the bond or insurance.

(8)

[Time frame for construction and commencement of operation.] Construction and commencement of operation of any facilities approved pursuant to this article shall be begin within five (5) years, unless an alternative time period is approved by the board, which in no case shall exceed seven (7) years from the date of approval.

(9)

[Approval requirements.] A solid waste management facility shall be approved only when the board is satisfied that the proposed facility is appropriately sited and necessary as determined through review of the factors, standards, requirements, and analysis contained in this article.

(10)

[Additional reasonable conditions for approval.] The board may attach such reasonable conditions as it deems necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare and further the purposes of this article, the comprehensive plan, and the land development code.

(Ord. No. 2014-014, § 8, 3-18-14)