(a) Free-standing telecommunications facilities (i.e., those not located on or in existing electric high tension towers) shall conform to the following site development
standards:
(1) Support structures shall be set back from all residential property lines a distance of no less than the height of the tower and shall comply with all required setbacks of the zoning district in which it is located. The Planning and Zoning Commission may permit the tower to be located closer to a residential property line if the visual impact is therefore reduced, but in no case shall be located less than 100 feet from a residential property line.
(2) Support structures shall be designed and placed on the site in a manner that takes maximum advantage of existing trees, mature vegetation, and structures so as to use existing site features to screen as much of the total facility as possible from view, and use existing site features as a background so that the facility blends into the background.
(3) Support structures, panel and parabolic antennas, and any associated hardware shall be painted a nonreflective color or color scheme appropriate and inconspicuous to the background against which the facility would be viewed from a majority of points within its viewshed. The final colors and color scheme must meet the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission and blend with surrounding environmental characteristics.
(b) Equipment enclosures shall be placed underground, or partially underground, unless site conditions do not permit such construction.
The maximum size of equipment buildings is 300 square feet for one provider and no more than 750 square feet in total. If there are multiple users, the equipment must be sheltered in a single building, unless the applicant can show a technical necessity for a separate building; in which case multiple buildings must appear to be a single building.
(c) Fencing shall be constructed for both aesthetic and public safety reasons. Fencing shall be at least six feet in height, but no more than eight feet. Barbed wire at the top of the fence may be permitted upon approval of the Village Planning Commission. The type of fence must meet the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(d) Existing vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. A buffer area of not less than ten feet in depth shall be placed between the facility and the public right- of-way, and any adjacent residential uses. This buffer shall be landscaped with hardy evergreen shrubbery or trees in a tight configuration at least six feet in height, so as to screen the facility. The landscaping shall be maintained and promptly restored when necessary by the owner of the tower.
(Ord. 98-37. Passed 6-2-98.)