(a) (1) Undergrounding. The City may require reasonable and nondiscriminatory requirements, including concealment measures, that do not prohibit communications service providers from installing structures on or above ground in the right-of-way in an area designated solely for underground or buried cable and utility facilities, provided that:
A. The City has required all cable and utility facilities, to place all their facilities underground in said area ninety days or more before the permit application at issue was submitted; and
B. The City does not prohibit replacement of the City's poles by a wireless provider in the designated area.
(2) A wireless provider may apply for a waiver of the undergrounding requirements.
(b) Historic, Downtown and Residential Districts. The City may require compliance with written, objective requirements for reasonable, technically feasible, nondiscriminatory, and technologically neutral designs or concealment measures in a historic district, downtown district, or residential zoning district. Such requirement shall not have the effect of prohibiting any wireless provider's technology. Any such design or concealment measures are not included in size restrictions in the definition of small wireless facility.
(c) Aesthetics Requirements. Wireless providers shall install, modify, collocate or otherwise provide all wireless facilities, equipment, poles, support structures and all other related wireless objects in a manner, size and appearance that is consistent and in conformity with the existing requirements and existing practices in fact, pertaining to such districts as defined by the applicable ordinances, rules and codes of this community and the applicable rules and laws of this State, in such fashion as to create the least negative impact on the district as possible. Such accommodations may include use of similar height, materials, color, design, number and appearance of other similar structures utilized by other occupiers of the rights-of-way and public spaces.
(1) Collocation including replacement of existing poles or support structures is strongly encouraged over the installation of additional new poles or support structures in the right-of-way.
(2) Placement of all equipment inside the pole or support structure is favored over placement outside the pole, including ground mountings.
(3) Smallest equipment, antennas and poles and support structures feasible is preferred.
(4) Camouflaging, stealth or concealment elements are preferred.
(5) Installations generally are favored in the following Districts in the following order of preference (most preferred to least):
Industrial
Commercial
Residential
Underground (commercial and then residential)
Environmentally sensitive areas including nature and wetland preservation sites
(d) Disagreements as between the provider and community on specific aesthetics issues shall be addressed by the Council upon timely written request of the provider. The City may consider incentives favoring installations in preferred districts.
(e) Damage to right-of-way. All wireless providers shall repair all damage to the right-of-way caused by the activities of the wireless provider while occupying, constructing, installing, mounting, maintaining, modifying, operating, or replacing small cell wireless facilities, utility poles, or wireless support structures in the right-of-way and return the right-of-way to its original condition. Following sixty days' written notice, the City may make those repairs and charge the wireless provider the cost of the repairs.
(Ord. 2020-02. Passed 3-9-20.)