(a) The following general use restrictions apply to all persons, firms, partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies, trusts, joint stock companies, unincorporated associations, governmental entities, banking institutions, and any other organization wishing to construct, operate, maintain, reconstruct, and/or rebuild a wireless telecommunications facility, and are subject to inspection by the Building Commissioner regardless of whether they are a conditional or permitted use, and regardless of the zoning district in which they are to be located. These general standards are to be supplemented with specific regulations for nonresidential and residential district regulations as set forth in Sections 1159.05 and 1159.06 which follow.
(b) A conditional use permit must be issued by the Building Commissioner and approved by the Planning Commission and Council for construction of new towers in nonindustrial districts. However, construction of new towers in industrial districts, collocation of antennas on a single existing tower, and antennas attached to existing structures or buildings that are located in industrial districts, or replacement towers to be constructed at the site of a current tower, are permitted uses and will not be subject to the conditional use permitting process.
(c) Any decision to deny a request to place, construct, or modify a wireless telecommunications antenna and/or tower shall be in writing and supported by evidence contained in a written record of the proceedings of the Planning Commission, or in a written record of the investigation by the Building Commissioner.
(d) All providers utilizing towers shall notify the Building Commissioner of any tower facility located in the Municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date this use will cease. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for 180 days, the Mayor may declare the facility abandoned. (This excludes any dormancy period between construction and the initial use of the facility). The facility's owner/operator will receive written notice from the Building Commissioner of instructions to reactivate the facility's use within 180 days, or to dismantle and remove the facility. If reactivation or dismantling does not occur, the Municipality will remove or contract to have removed the facility and assess the owner/operator the costs.
(e) When a proposed wireless telecommunications facility is to include a new tower, a plot plan at scale of not less than one inch equal to 100 feet shall be submitted. This plot plan shall indicate all building's uses within 500 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/or renderings shall augment the plot plan.
(f) The location of all towers and equipment shelters shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established in the Planning and Zoning Code, including those for floodplain, wetlands, and steep slopes.
(g) Security fencing ten feet in height, topped with barbed wire shall completely surround all towers, equipment shelters and any guy wires, either completely or individually as determined by the Planning Commission.
(h) The following buffer planting may be required around the perimeter of the security fence as deemed appropriate by the Building Commissioner:
(1) An evergreen screen shall be planted that consists of either a hedge, planted three feet on center maximum, or a row of evergreen trees planted five feet on center maximum.
(2) Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(i) Any application to locate an antenna on a building or structure that is listed on an historic register, or is in an historic district shall be subject to special review by the Building Commissioner.
(j) All towers shall be painted or colored a non-contrasting gray or similar color minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by the FCC or FAA. If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to, or closely compatible with, the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible.
(k) No advertising is permitted anywhere on the facility, with the exception of identification signs.
(l) Any tower over 100 feet shall be artificially lighted to assure safety. Any tower between 100 and 200 feet in height shall follow safety markings and obstruction lighting as prescribed by the FAA. Security lighting around the equipment shelter is permitted.
(m) "No Trespassing" signs, four feet by four feet, shall be posted around all facilities with a telephone number of who to contact in the event of an emergency. Said signs shall be maintained by the owner/operator at all times.
(n) Applicants shall provide evidence of legal access to the tower site, and thereby maintain this access regardless of other developments that might take place on the site.
(o) Underground equipment shelters shall be placed at all wireless telecommunications tower sites in nonindustrial districts, and are encouraged in industrial areas, and may be requested by the Building Commissioner.
(p) A report prepared by a licensed professional engineer shall be included with the submitted application and shall contain the height, design, proof of compliance with nationally accepted structural standards and a description of the tower's capacity, including the number and types of antennas it can accommodate.
(q) A soil report complying with the standards of Appendix I: Geotechnical Investigations, ANSI/EIA 222-E, as amended, shall be submitted to the Municipality to document and verify the design specifications of the foundation for the tower, and anchors for the guy wires, if used.
(r) Towers and antenna shall be designed to resist wind loads in accordance with EIA/TIA 222-E listed in Chapter 35 of the Ohio Basic Building Code. Consideration shall be given to conditions involving wind load on ice-covered sections in localities subject to sustained freezing temperatures.
(s) All towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC, and any other agency of the federal government with the authority to regulate towers and antennas, including but not limited to all electromagnetic emissions standards established by the FCC. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owner/operators of the towers and antennas governed by this chapter shall bring such towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within six months of the effective date of such standards and regulations, unless a more stringent compliance schedule is mandated by the controlling federal agency. Failure to bring towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense.
(t) The facility owner/operator shall present a maintenance plan in which they will be responsible for the upkeep of the site.
(u) The wireless telecommunications facility shall be fully automated and unattended on a daily basis, and shall be visited only for periodic and necessary maintenance, or emergencies.
(v) If the antenna or facility encroaches on the City right-of-way, the applicant may, at the discretion of the Building Commissioner, be subject to the additional provisions of the Garfield Heights right-of-way permit.
(Ord. 50-1998. Passed 6-2-98.)