A. Purpose. In order to accommodate the communication needs of residents and business while protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community, the City Council finds that these regulations are necessary in order to:
1. Facilitate the provision of wireless telecommunication services to the residents and businesses of the City;
2. Minimize adverse visual effects of towers through careful design and siting standards;
3. Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through structural standards and setback requirements; and
4. Maximize the use of existing and approved towers and buildings to accommodate new wireless telecommunication antennae in order to reduce the number of towers needed to serve the community.
B. Interim Use Permit Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect, construct in place, place or re-erect, or replace any tower without first making application to the City and securing an interim use permit therefore as hereinafter provided. The applicant shall provide at the time of application sufficient information to indicate that construction, installation, and maintenance of the antenna and tower will not create a safety hazard or damage to the property of other persons. Routine maintenance of towers and related structures shall not require the issuance of an interim use permit.
C. Co-Location Requirements. All commercial wireless telecommunication towers erected, constructed, or located within the City shall comply with the following requirements:
1. A proposal for a new commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall not be approved unless it can be documented by the applicant that the telecommunications equipment planned for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower or building within a one-half (1/2) mile search radius of the proposed tower due to one or more of the following reasons:
(a) The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing or approved tower or building, as documented by a qualified professional engineer licensed by the state of Minnesota, and the existing or approved tower cannot be reinforced, modified, or replaced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at cost less than one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the cost of a new tower.
(b) The planned equipment would cause interference materially impacting the usability of other existing or planned equipment at the tower or building as documented by a qualified electrical engineer licensed by the state of Minnesota and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost.
(c) Existing or approved towers and buildings within the search radius cannot accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to function reasonably as documented by a qualified professional engineer licensed by the state of Minnesota.
(d) Other reasons affecting technical performance, system coverage, and system capacity which make it impractical to place or locate the planned telecommunications equipment upon an existing or approved tower or building as determined by the City Council during its review of an application for approval of an interim use permit.
2. Any proposed commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall be designed, structurally, electrically, and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant’s antennae and comparable antennae for at least one additional user. Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennae upon the tower and to accept antennae mounted at varying heights.
D. Tower and Antenna Design Requirements. Proposed or modified towers and antennae shall meet the following design requirements:
1. Towers and antennae shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment to the maximum extent possible through the use of color and camouflaging architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration.
2. Commercial wireless telecommunication service towers shall be of a monopole design unless determined that an alternative design would better blend into the surrounding environment.
E. Tower Setbacks. Towers shall conform with each of the following minimum setback requirements:
1. At a minimum, towers shall meet the setbacks of the underlying zoning district provided the setback is consistent with the requirements in subsection 3(b) below.
2. Towers shall be set back from any property line a minimum distance equal to the height of the tower, except that, upon certification of a professional engineer licensed by the state of Minnesota, the setback may be reduced to the height of the portion of the structure that will remain standing after an event of high winds or similar event because the tower is designed to collapse, fold on itself or curl in such event.
[§ 7A-817E 1-2, formerly § 7A-834, Paragraph 5(a) and (b), amended by Ord. No. 97-4, effective Aug. 29, 1997.]
3. Towers shall not be located between a principal structure and a public street, with the following exceptions:
(a.) In industrial zoning districts, towers may be placed within a side yard abutting an internal industrial street.
(b.) On sites adjacent to public streets on all sides, towers may be placed within a side yard abutting a local street.
4. A tower’s setback may be reduced or its location in relation to a public street varied, at the sole discretion of the City Council, to allow the integration of a tower into an existing or proposed structure such as a church steeple, light standard, power line support device, or similar structure.
F. Tower Height. The maximum height of towers shall not exceed one hundred seventy-five (175) feet in height. Antennae attached to towers may project above the maximum tower height a maximum of ten (10) feet.
G. Tower Lighting. Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and shall not display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority for a particular tower. Notwithstanding this provision, the City Council may, in its sole discretion, approve the placement of an antenna on existing or proposed lighting provided that the antenna is integrated with such lighting in a manner which substantially camouflages the antenna array and related facilities.
H. Signs and Advertising. The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
I. Accessory Utility Buildings. All utility buildings and structures accessory to a tower shall be architecturally designed to blend in with the surrounding environment and shall meet the minimum setback requirements of the underlying zoning district. Ground mounted equipment shall be screened from view by suitable vegetation, except where a design of non-vegetative screening better reflects and complements the architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood. Accessory buildings shall not be more than two thousand (2,000) square feet in size.
J. Abandoned or Unused Towers or Portions of Towers. Abandoned or unused towers or portions of towers shall be removed as follows:
1. All abandoned or unused towers and associated facilities shall be removed within twelve (12) months of the cessation of operations at the site unless a time extension is approved by the City Council. A copy of the relevant portions of a signed lease which requires the applicant to remove the tower and associated facilities upon cessation of operations at the site shall be submitted at the time of application. In the event that a tower is not removed within twelve (12) months of the cessation of operations at a site, the tower and associated facilities may be removed by the City and the costs of removal assessed against the property.
2. Unused portions of towers above a manufactured connection shall be removed within six (6) months of the time of antenna relocation.
K. Antennae Mounted on Roofs, Walls, and Existing Towers. The placement of wireless telecommunication antennae on roofs, walls, and existing towers shall be approved by issuance of an interim use permit in the same manner as approval of new towers.
L. Interference with Telecommunications. No new or existing telecommunications service shall interfere with public safety telecommunications, or private telecommunications, including without limitation, radio, television, and personal communications, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
M. Additional Submittal Requirements. In addition to the information required elsewhere in this Code, development applications for towers and antennae shall include the following supplemental information:
1. A report from a qualified professional engineer licensed by the State of Minnesota which (a) describes the tower and antennae height and design including a cross section and elevation; (b) documents the height above grade for all potential mounting positions for co-located antennae and the minimum separation distances between antennae; (c) describes the tower’s capacity, including the number and type of antennae that it can accommodate; and (d) includes an engineer’s stamp and registration number.
2. For all commercial wireless telecommunication service towers, a letter of intent committing the tower owner and his or her successors to allow the shared use of the tower if an additional user agrees in writing to meet reasonable terms and conditions for shared use, including without limitation, reasonable rental rates for such shared use.
3. Before the issuance of a building permit, the following supplemental information shall be submitted: (a) a written statement from the applicant that the proposed tower and antenna comply with regulations administered by Federal Aviation Administration.
4. A written statement from a qualified electrical engineer licensed by the State of Minnesota stating that use of the proposed tower and antenna will not interfere with established telecommunications.
N. Construction Requirements. All antennae and towers erected, constructed, or located within the City, and all wiring therefore, shall comply with the following requirements:
1. All applicable provisions of this Code.
2. Towers shall be certified by a qualified professional engineer licensed by the state of Minnesota to conform to the latest structural standards and wind loading requirements of the Uniform Building Code and the Electronics Industry Association.
3. No part of any antenna or tower nor any lines, cable, equipment or wires or braces in connection with either shall at any time extend across or over any part of the right-of-way, public street, highway, sidewalk, or property line.
4. Towers and associated antennae shall be designed to conform with accepted electrical engineering methods and practices and to comply with the provisions of the National Electrical Code.
5. All signal and remote control conductors of low energy extending substantially horizontally above the ground between a tower or antenna and a structure, or between towers, shall be at least six and one-half (6.5) feet above the ground at all points, unless buried underground.
6. Every tower affixed to the ground shall be protected to discourage climbing of the tower by unauthorized persons by erection of a security fence at least six feet in height.
7. All towers shall be constructed to conform with the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
O. Existing Antennae and Towers. Antennae and towers in existence as of January 1, 1996, which do not conform to or comply with this Section are subject to the following provisions:
1. Towers may continue in use for the purpose now used and as now existing but may not be replaced or structurally altered without complying in all respects with this Section.
2. If such towers are hereafter damaged or destroyed due to any reason or cause whatsoever, the tower may be repaired and restored to its former use, location, and physical dimensions upon obtaining a building permit therefore, but without otherwise complying with this Section; however, if the cost of repairing the tower to the former use, physical dimensions, and location would be fifty (50) percent or more of the cost of a new tower of like kind and quality, then the tower may not be repaired or restored except in full compliance with this section.
P. Lights and Other Attachments. No antenna or tower adjacent to any residential zoning district shall have affixed or attached to it in any way except during time of repair or installation any lights, reflectors, flashers, or other illuminating device, except as required by the Federal Aviation Agency or the Federal Communications Commission, nor shall any tower have constructed thereon, or attached thereto, in any way, any platform, catwalk, crow’s nest, or like structure, except during periods of construction or repair. This provision shall not prohibit the attachment of an antenna mounting framework to any tower.
Q. Violations. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
[§ 7A-817, formerly §7A-834 added by Ord. No. 96-7, effective Aug. 29, 1996, and amended by Ord. No. 02-01, effective May 17, 2002, § 7A-816, formerly 7A-817 amended (renumbered) by Ord. No. 04-04A, effective June 3, 2004, amended by Ord. No. 07-02, effective March 1, 2007, as amended by Ord. No. 09-06, effective July 30, 2009; amended by Ord. No. 23-05, effective August 31, 2023.]