(A) Basic requirements. Facilities located outside the public right-of-way are subject to the design and development standards set forth in this section in addition to all design and development standards that apply to all facilities.
(B) No parking interference. In no event shall the installation of facilities replace or interfere with parking spaces in such a way as to reduce the total number of parking spaces below the number that is required.
(C) Roof-mounted facilities. Roof-mounted facilities shall be designed and constructed to be fully concealed or screened in a manner compatible with the existing architecture of the building the facility is mounted to in color, texture, and type of material. Screening shall not increase the bulk of the structure nor alter the character of the structure. Roof-mounted antennas and associated equipment shall be located as far back from the edge of the roof as possible to minimize visibility from street level locations. Where appropriate, construction of a roof-top parapet wall to hide the facility may be required. To avoid or mitigate the appearance of visual clutter on rooftops, proposed facilities should, to the extent feasible, be located adjacent to existing rooftop antennas or equipment, incorporated into rooftop antenna or equipment enclosures, or otherwise screened from view. In addition, existing rooftop antennas and equipment should be consolidated where practical and shall be removed if abandoned.
(D) Wall-mounted antennas shall be integrated architecturally with the style and character of the structure or otherwise made as unobtrusive as possible. If possible, antennas should be located entirely within an existing or newly-created architectural feature so as to be completely screened from view. To the extent feasible, wall-mounted antennas should not be located on the front, or most prominent facade of a structure, and should be located above the pedestrian line-of-sight.
(E) Facilities mounted to a telecommunications tower.
(1) Facilities mounted to a telecommunications tower shall be located in close proximity to existing above-ground utilities, such as electrical towers or utility poles (which are not scheduled for removal or under grounding for at least 18 months after the date of application), light poles, trees of comparable heights, and in areas where they will not detract from the appearance of the town.
(2) Facilities mounted to a telecommunications tower, including, but not limited to, the attached antennas, shall be designed to be the minimum functional height and width required to adequately support the proposed facility and meet FCC requirements. The applicant shall provide documentation satisfactory to the Zoning Administrator establishing compliance with this division (E)(2). In any event, facilities mounted to a telecommunications tower shall not exceed the applicable height limit for structures in the applicable zoning district.
(3) Aside from the antenna itself, no additional equipment may be visible. All cables, including, but not limited to, electrical and utility cables, shall be laid within the interior of the telecommunications tower and camouflaged or hidden to the fullest extent feasible without jeopardizing the physical integrity of the tower.
(4) Pole installations shall be situated so as to utilize existing natural or man-made features including topography, vegetation, buildings, or other structures to provide the greatest amount of visual screening.
(5) All antenna components and accessory wireless equipment shall be treated with exterior coatings of a color and texture to match the predominant visual background or existing architectural elements so as to visually blend in with the surrounding development. Subdued colors and non-reflective materials that blend with surrounding materials and colors shall be used.
(6) Poles shall be no greater in diameter or other cross-sectional dimensions than is necessary for the proper functioning of the facility.
(7) If a faux tree is proposed for the pole installation, it shall be of a type of tree compatible with those existing in the immediate areas of the installation. If no trees exist within the immediate areas, the applicant shall create a landscape setting that integrates the faux tree with added species of a similar height and type. Additional camouflage of the faux tree may be required depending on the type and design of faux tree proposed.
(F) Accessory equipment. All accessory equipment associated with the operation of any wireless telecommunications facility shall be fully screened or camouflaged and located so as to minimize their visibility to the greatest extent possible, utilizing the following methods for the type of installation:
(1) Accessory equipment for roof-mounted facilities shall be installed inside the building to which it is mounted or underground, if feasible. If not feasible, such accessory equipment may be located on the roof of the building that the facility is mounted on, provided that both the equipment and screening materials are painted the color of the building, roof, or surroundings. All screening materials for roof-mounted facilities shall be of a quality and design that is architecturally integrated with the design of the building or structure.
(2) Accessory equipment for facilities mounted to a telecommunications tower shall be visually screened by locating the equipment either within a nearby building, in an underground vault (with the exception of required electrical panels), or in another type of enclosed structure, which shall comply with the development and design standards of the zoning district in which the accessory equipment is located. Such enclosed structure shall be architecturally treated and adequately screened from view by landscape plantings, decorative walls, fencing or other appropriate means, selected so that the resulting screening will be visually integrated with the architecture and landscaping of the surroundings.
(3) Whenever possible, base stations, equipment cabinets, back-up generators and other equipment associated with building-mounted antennas should be installed within the existing building envelope or underground. If this is not feasible, the equipment shall be painted, screened, fenced, landscaped or otherwise treated architecturally to minimize its appearance from off-site locations and to visually blend with the surrounding natural and built environments. Equipment buildings should be designed in an architectural style and constructed of exterior building materials that are consistent with surrounding development and/or land use setting.
(Ord. 833, passed 8-7-2019)