A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to establish general guidelines for the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas. The goals of this section are to:
1. Protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas;
2. Encourage the location of towers in nonresidential areas;
3. Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community;
4. Strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single use towers;
5. Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;
6. Encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques;
7. Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently;
8. Consider the public health and safety of communication towers; and
9. Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures.
B. Definitions: For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:
ALTERNATIVE TOWER STRUCTURE: Manmade trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and similar alternative design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers.
ANTENNA: Any exterior transmitting or receiving apparatus mounted on a tower, building or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals or other communication signals.
ANTENNA HEIGHT: When referring to a tower or other structure, the distance measured from the finished grade of the parcel to the highest point on the tower or other structure, including the base pad and any antenna.
CAMOUFLAGED: A telecommunication facility that is disguised, hidden, or integrated with the existing environment and trees so as to be significantly screened from view.
CELL SITE OR SITE: A tract or parcel of land that contains telecommunications facilities, including any antenna, support structure, accessory buildings, and parking, and may include other uses associated with and ancillary to personal wireless service.
COLLOCATION: The use of a telecommunication facility or cell site by more than one personal wireless service provider.
DESIGN: The appearance of telecommunications facilities, including such features as their materials, colors, and shape.
EQUIPMENT ENCLOSURE: A structure, shelter, cabinet, or vault used to house and protect the electronic equipment necessary for processing wireless communication signals. Associated equipment may include air conditioning, backup power supplies and emergency generators.
FAA: The federal aviation administration.
FCC: The federal communications commission.
GOVERNING AUTHORITY: The governing authority of Gem County, namely the board of commissioners.
PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE, PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITIES AND FACILITIES: Used in this chapter, shall be defined in the same manner as in title 47, United States Code, section 332(c)(7)(C), as they may be amended now or in the future, and includes facilities for the transmission and reception of radio or microwave signals used for communication, cellular phone, personal communications services, enhanced specialized mobile radio, and other wireless services licensed by the FCC and unlicensed wireless services.
PREEXISTING TOWERS AND PREEXISTING ANTENNAS: Any tower or antenna for which a building permit or special use permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date hereof, including permitted towers or antennas that have not yet been constructed, so long as such approval is current and not expired.
PROVIDER: A corporation, company, association, joint stock company, firm, partnership, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, other entity or individual which provides telecommunications facilities.
SECURITY BARRIER: A wall, fence, or berm that has the purpose of securing a telecommunication facility from unauthorized entry or trespass.
TELECOMMUNICATION FACILITY: A facility, site, or location that contains one or more antennas, telecommunication towers, alternative support structures, satellite dish antennas, other similar communication devices, and support equipment which is used for transmitting, receiving, or relaying telecommunications signals.
TOWER: Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas, including self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, or monopole towers. The term encompasses telecommunications facilities including radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common carrier towers, cellular telephone towers or personal communications services towers, alternative tower structures, and the like.
C. Applicability:
1. The following regulations shall apply to tower structures and associated equipment for the purpose of commercial radio, television, telephone, paging, or satellite reception and/or transmission.
2. A facility that meets one of the following standards shall be reviewed as an accessory use. Any other facility shall be reviewed as a special use.
a. The proposed facility is located on an existing structure or on the ground and the proposed facility does not exceed ten feet (10') in height.
b. The tower or antenna structure does not exceed ten feet (10') in height, is accessory to a permitted or approved use, and the proposed facility meets all conditions of the previously approved use.
D. General Standards For Commercial Tower Structures And Associated Equipment:
1. The facility shall comply with FCC standards regarding radio frequency (RF) emissions.
2. The facility shall have approval from the federal aviation administration and the chief of the Idaho bureau of aeronautics prior to operation.
3. The applicant or owner shall be required to obtain all necessary permits, as may be required under federal, state or local statutes, regulations or ordinances including, but not limited to, building permits.
4. The facility shall be maintained in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations and the construction standards set forth in this subsection.
5. The owners, or owner's agent, of the facility shall have a continuous obligation to ensure the maintenance and upkeep and to prevent the creation of a public nuisance.
6. For any facility requiring special use approval, the administrator shall notify all property owners within a minimum of three hundred feet (300') of any property boundary (or lease boundary lines, if applicable) of the proposed site.
7. The tower and associated facilities shall be removed within sixty (60) days of cessation of use.
8. Tower construction, setback, and fall zone standards:
a. The tower shall be constructed to the Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 222 revision F standard entitled "Structural Standards For Steel Antenna Supporting Structures", or as hereinafter may be amended.
b. Within the Emmett airport influence areas overlay zone, the height limit on the tower or antenna structure shall be as required by the code of federal regulations 14 CFR 77.
c. Towers over twenty feet (20') in height must be designed to allow for future placement of additional antennas upon the tower. Such towers must also be designed to accept antennas mounted at varying heights.
d. If the tower does not exceed the height limitations of the applicable zone, the tower shall meet the setback requirements of the zone. If the tower exceeds the height limitation of the applicable zone, the tower shall meet the setback requirements of the zone or it shall be set back one foot (1') for every ten feet (10') of total tower height from all property lines, whichever is greater.
e. In addition to the setback requirement noted in subsection D8d of this section, a fall zone for each tower shall be delineated and permanently restricted from future development, as follows:
(1) The fall zone shall consist of the land area centered beneath the tower and circumscribed by a circle with a radius equal to a length of one foot (1') for every ten feet (10') of tower height.
(2) If the fall zone does not lie completely within the subject property, the applicant must obtain an irrevocable easement from all owners of property within the fall zone that prohibits the construction or placement of new structures within the fall zone, except as may be specifically permitted through the special use process. If an easement is utilized, a copy of the fully executed easement agreement shall be submitted as part of the application.
f. Towers shall be architecturally and visually compatible with the existing structures, vegetation, and/or uses in the area or likely to exist in the area under the terms of the applicable zone and/or comprehensive plan. The decision making body shall consider, but shall not be limited to, the following factors: similar height, color, bulk, and/or shape, or camouflage techniques to disguise the facility. This shall not preclude towers requiring FAA painting and marking from meeting those standards.
E. Application Requirements: The application materials shall include the following written documentation:
1. Suitability analysis of the proposed site. The analysis shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
a. Description of the surrounding area within one mile of the subject site including topography;
b. Propagation charts showing existing and proposed transmission coverage at the subject site and within an area large enough to provide an understanding of why the facility needs to be placed at the chosen location.
2. If applicable, relevant portions of a signed lease agreement that requires the applicant to remove the tower and/or associated facilities upon cessation of use.
F. Additional Application Requirements For Facilities That Require Special Use Approval:
1. Engineering data showing that the tower is designed structurally, electrically, and in all other respects to accommodate both the applicant's equipment and comparable equipment for a minimum of one additional user if the tower is over twenty feet (20') in height. If the tower is over one hundred ten feet (110') in height, it shall be designed structurally, electrically, and in all other respects to accommodate both the applicant's equipment and comparable equipment for a minimum of two (2) additional users.
2. A report from a qualified and licensed professional engineer that: a) describes the facility height and design (including a cross section and elevation); b) documents the height above grade for the recommended mounting position for collocated antennas and the minimum separation distances between antennas; c) describes the facility's capacity; and d) any other information necessary to evaluate the request. The report must include the engineer's stamp and registration number.
3. A letter of intent committing the facility owner and successors to allow the shared use of the facility, as required by this section, if additional users agree in writing to meet reasonable terms and conditions for shared use.
4. Written analysis demonstrating that the facility cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower within:
a. A two (2) mile radius for towers with a height over one hundred feet (100');
b. A one mile radius for towers with a height over eighty feet (80'), but not more than one hundred ten feet (110');
c. A one-half (1/2) mile radius for towers with a height over fifty feet (50'), but not more than eighty feet (80'); or
d. A one-fourth (1/4) mile radius for towers with a height of fifty feet (50') or less.
5. It shall be the burden of the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed facility cannot be accommodated on an approved tower or structure within the required search radius due to one or more of the following reasons:
a. Unwillingness of a property owner, or tower or facility owner to allow shared use.
b. The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing tower or structure, as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer, and the existing tower or facility structure cannot be reinforced, modified, or replaced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost.
c. The planned equipment would cause radio interference with material impacting the usability of other existing or planned equipment at the tower or structure, and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer or other professional qualified to provide necessary documentation.
d. Existing or approved towers or other structures within the search radius cannot accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to be commercially functional as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer or other professional qualified to provide necessary documentation.
e. The proposed collocation with an existing tower or structure would be in violation of local, state or federal law.
f. Any other unforeseen reasons that make it unfeasible to collocate upon an existing or approved tower or structure as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer, or other professional qualified to provide necessary documentation.
G. Tower Or Antenna Structure, Private:
1. Applicability: The following regulations shall apply to tower structures for the purpose of private radio, television, or satellite reception and antennas for amateur radio. Towers shall not be subject to the accessory structure regulations of this section.
a. Amateur radio station operators/receive only antennas. This section shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under seventy feet (70') in height and is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive only antennas.
b. Accessory structures shall not be located in any required yard or on any publicly dedicated easement.
c. An accessory structure located in the rear yard shall not exceed a height of twenty four feet (24').
d. Accessory structures in a residential base zone shall be architecturally compatible (as defined in this subsection) with the principal permitted dwelling.
e. An accessory structure in a rural base zone shall be architecturally compatible (as defined in this subsection) with the principal permitted dwelling if:
(1) The accessory structure is located in the side yard, or portion thereof; or
(2) The square footage of the footprint of the accessory structure is greater than the square footage of the footprint of the principal permitted dwelling.
2. General Standards:
a. The tower or antenna structure is only for private, not commercial, use.
b. The tower or antenna structure is accessory to a permitted or approved use. (Ord. 2009-05, 9-28-2009)