A. General: The following provisions shall govern the issuance of special use permits for towers or antennas by the village:
2. Applications for special use permits under this section shall be subject to the procedures and requirements of the zoning regulations, except as modified in this section, including recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission and approval by the board of trustees of the village.
3. In granting a special use permit, the Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend, and/or the board of trustees may impose conditions to the extent the village concludes such conditions are necessary to minimize any adverse effect of the proposed tower and accessory building including extension facade materials and design on adjoining properties, but such conditions may not have the effect of prohibiting erection of the tower.
4. Any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical, or electrical, shall be certified by a licensed professional engineer.
5. Each applicant for special use shall file an application with the village clerk, including the information set forth in subsection B1 of this section and a deposit equal to five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), from which the village shall from time to time pay the application fee, and the costs of reviewing the application, including fees incurred for any consultant to review and report on the application. Any balance remaining on said deposit after final decision of the application shall be refunded to the applicant. The village board shall from time to time set a fee for such application.
B. Towers:
1. Information Required: In addition to any information required for applications for conditional use permits under the zoning regulations, applicants for a conditional use permit for a tower shall submit the following information:
a. A scaled site plan clearly indicating the location, type and height of the proposed tower, on site land uses and zoning, adjacent land uses and zoning (including properties outside the village's boundaries), comprehensive plan classification of the site and all properties within the applicable separation distances set forth in subsection B5 of this section, adjacent roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines, elevation drawings of the proposed facilities, topography, parking, and other information deemed by the village to be necessary to assess compliance with this article.
b. Legal description of the property on which the facilities are to be located, including a leased parcel (if applicable).
c. The setback distance between the proposed tower and the nearest residential unit, any residentially zoned property (including any unplatted residentially zoned property), and any other property planned for residential uses.
d. A landscape plan showing specific landscape materials.
e. A description of the finished color and, if applicable, the method of camouflage and illumination, including any fencing.
f. A description of applicant's compliance with subsections 6-19-4C, D, E, F, G, J, L, and M of this article, and subsections B4 and B5 of this section and all applicable federal, state or local laws.
g. A statement by the applicant as to whether construction of the tower will accommodate collocation of additional antennas for future users.
h. A description of the unsuitability of existing towers, other structures, and/or alternative technology not requiring the use of towers or structures, to provide the service to be provided by the proposed new tower.
i. A description, in the event the proposed tower is erected, of the feasible location(s) for towers or antennas to be located within the village in the future, based upon existing physical, engineering, technological or geographical limitations.
j. If the location is leased or to be leased to applicant, agreement by the owner to terms relating to removal of the tower or antenna and related facilities, as described in section 6-19-8 of this article.
2. Factors Considered In Granting Conditional Use Permits For Towers: In addition to any standards for consideration of conditional use permit applications pursuant to subsection 6-14-3H of this chapter, the Planning & Zoning Commission and the board of trustees shall consider the following factors in determining whether to recommend issuance of a conditional use permit:
a. Height of the proposed tower;
b. Proximity of the tower to residential structures and residential district boundaries;
c. Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties;
d. Surrounding topography;
e. Surrounding tree coverage and foliage;
f. Design of the tower, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness;
g. Proposed ingress and egress; and
h. Availability of suitable existing towers, other structures, or alternative technologies not requiring the use of towers or structures, as discussed in subsection B3 of this section.
3. Availability Of Suitable Existing Towers, Other Structures, Or Alternative Technology: No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the village that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. An applicant shall submit information requested by the village related to the availability of suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technology. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following:
a. No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area which meet applicant's engineering requirements.
b. Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
c. Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment.
d. The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna.
e. The fees, costs, or other contractual provisions for payment or expense required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Total fees, costs or other contractual provisions for payment or expense which exceed the cost of developing and constructing a new tower are presumed to be unreasonable.
f. The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
g. The applicant demonstrates that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low powered transmitters/receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. It shall not be presumed that merely because costs of alternative technology exceed the cost of developing a new tower or antenna that the alternative technology is unsuitable.
4. Setbacks: The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers for which a special use permit is required:
a. Towers must be set back a distance equal to at least seventy five percent (75%) of the height of the tower from any adjoining lot line, except that a monopole needs to be set back a distance equal to twenty five percent (25%) of its height.
b. Guys and accessory buildings must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements, including the provision of transitional yards, if required.
5. Separation: The following separation requirements shall apply to all towers and antennas for which a conditional use permit is required:
a. Separation From Off Site Uses/Designated Areas:
(1) Tower separation shall be measured from the base of the tower to the lot line of the off site uses and/or designated areas as specified in table 1 including the exceptions noted therein.
(2) Separation requirements for towers shall comply with the minimum standards established in table 1 of this section.
b. New Towers: Separation distances between towers shall be applicable for new towers, and shall be measured as the distance between the proposed tower and any preexisting towers. The separation distances shall be measured by drawing or following a straight line between the base of the existing tower and the proposed base, pursuant to a site plan, of the proposed tower. The separation distances (listed in linear feet) shall be as shown in table 2 of this section.
TABLE 1
SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS
SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS
Off Site Use/Designated Area | Separation Distance |
Single-family or duplex residential units principal building | 200 feet |
Vacant single-family or duplex residentially zoned land which is either platted or has preliminary subdivision plan approval which is not expired | 500 feet |
Vacant unplatted residentially zoned lands | 500 feet |
Existing multi-family residential units greater than duplex units | 100 feet or 100 percent of tower height whichever is greater |
Nonresidentially zoned lands or nonresidential uses | None; only setbacks apply |
Notes:
1. Includes modular homes and mobile homes used for living purposes.
2. Separation measured from base of tower to closest principal building setback line.
3. Includes any unplatted residential use properties without a valid preliminary subdivision plan or valid development plan approval and any multi-family residentially zoned land greater than duplex.
TABLE 2
SEPARATION DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWERS
SEPARATION DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWERS
Types Of Towers/Separation Distance | ||||
Lattice | Guyed | 75 Feet In Height Or Greater | Less Than 75 Feet In Height | |
Lattice | 5,000 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 750 |
Guyed | 5,000 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 750 |
Monopole 75 feet in height or greater | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 750 |
Monopole less than 75 feet in height | 750 | 750 | 750 | 750 |
6. Security Fencing: Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six feet (6') in height and shall also be equipped with an appropriate anticlimbing device; or designed to discourage climbing; to be provided however, that the Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend and the board of trustees may approve a waiver of such requirement as it deems appropriate.
7. Landscaping: The following requirements shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend, and the board of trustees may approve, a waiver of such requirements if the goals of this article would be better served thereby.
a. Tower facilities shall be landscaped with a buffer of plant materials that effectively screens the view of the tower compound from property used for residences. The standard buffer shall consist of a landscaped strip at least four feet (4') wide outside the perimeter of the compound.
b. In locations where the visual impact of the tower would be minimal, the landscaping requirement may be reduced or waived.
c. Existing mature tree growth and natural land forms on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In some cases, such as towers sited on large, wooded lots, natural growth around the property perimeter may be sufficient buffer.
C. Waiver Of Requirements: The Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend, and/or the board of trustees may approve, a waiver or reduction of the burden of any one or more of the criteria set forth in this section if either respectively concludes that the purposes and goals of this article would be better served thereby; and specifically as to the setback requirement of subsection B4 of this section, may reduce the standard if enforcement of the requirement would effectively prohibit the proposed facilities.
D. Modification Of Building Size Requirements: The requirements of this section may be varied by the village in the case of administratively approved uses or by recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and/or approval by the board of trustees in the case of uses permitted by special use, in order to accommodate or encourage collocation. (Ord. 06-54, 9-21-2006; amd. Ord. 21-15, 4-15-2021)