Personal wireless service (PWS) facilities shall not be installed, constructed or altered without first obtaining a building permit from the village. The regulations set forth in this section shall govern the installation of PWS facilities (including all collocation of such facilities on existing facilities), in addition to all other applicable provisions of this code. Applications for a building permit to construct PWS facilities shall be referred to the building department for review.
A. Purpose: The purpose of this section is to provide for the installation of PWS facilities and minimize the total number of PWS facilities throughout the village; encourage owners and operator of PWS facilities to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the village is minimized; encourage owners and operators of PWS facilities to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the PWS facilities; and to comply with the requirements of federal law.
B. Use Provisions/Location: PWS facilities (specifically includes no impact facilities without PWS towers) complying with the requirements of this section may be installed on lots in the M or I district as a special use. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the village may permit as a special use in any zoning district, PWS facilities when specifically located along existing overhead electrical high tension transmission lines or railroad tracks. Where there are existing PWS facilities located in any zoning district, collocation may be considered by a special use permit.
PWS facilities may be installed on zoning lots along with existing principal structures or uses. Lawfully constructed PWS facilities shall not be deemed to be either principal or accessory structures or uses, but shall be permitted additional structures. Such PWS facilities shall be included for the purpose of determining maximum lot coverage for the zoning lots so occupied.
C. Standards For Construction Of PWS Facilities: PWS facilities may be installed on lots as provided in this section, in accordance with the following:
1. Collocation: In order to minimize adverse visual impacts associated with the proliferation of PWS facilities, collocation of PWS facilities by more than one carrier on existing or new PWS facilities or other structures shall take precedence over the construction of new single use PWS facilities. The village may deny an application for special use permit or building permit to construct a new PWS facility if the applicant has not made a good faith effort to collocate the PWS facility on an existing PWS facility or other structure in accordance with the provisions of this section. If a new PWS facility is deemed to be necessary, then it shall be designed and constructed to accommodate more than one user, and shall include appropriate provision for the PWS facilities of such additional users.
2. Exceptions: No new PWS facility shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the village that no existing PWS facility or other structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed PWS facility. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing PWS facility or other structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed PWS facility may consist of any of the following:
a. No existing PWS facility or other usable structures are located within the geographic area required to meet the applicant's engineering requirements.
b. Existing PWS facilities and other structures are not of sufficient height to meet the applicant's engineering requirements and cannot be adapted or retrofitted to meet those requirements.
c. Existing PWS facilities and other structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant's PWS antenna and related equipment.
d. The applicant's proposed PWS facility would cause unavoidable electromagnetic interference with an antenna or other facility on the existing PWS facility or other structures, or an antenna or other facility on the existing PWS facilities or other structures would cause unavoidable electromagnetic interference with the applicant's proposed PWS facilities.
e. The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing PWS facilities and other structures unsuitable or unusable.
3. Type And Finish: Each PWS facility shall be aesthetically designed to blend in with the character of the site or be aesthetically camouflaged, such as designed to look like a pine tree, for example. Each PWS facility design shall be maintenance free. The design and finish shall be approved by the village board.
4. Structural Attachment: Each PWS tower shall be roof mounted (i.e., structurally attached to the roof of a building), freestanding (i.e., structurally attached to the ground), or mounted to high tension towers.
5. Installation And Maintenance: Each PWS facility shall be installed and maintained in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, including those of the FAA and the FCC, and the village's building regulations.
6. Security: Each PWS facility shall be equipped with an appropriate anticlimbing device or devices; and shall feature security wall and/or other appropriate security measures as detailed in subsection D2 of this section.
7. Number Of Towers: Not more than one freestanding PWS facility shall be installed on any zoning lot without a variance and special use.
8. Lighting: No PWS facility shall be artificially illuminated unless such is required by the FAA or other regulatory agency having jurisdiction in which case, such artificial illumination shall be limited to that which is so required.
9. Setbacks: Each freestanding PWS facility shall comply with all required setbacks for the zoning district in which such are located and further, shall be set back from any residential lot line a distance of not less than the height of the tower. Setbacks shall be measured from the nearest property line or street right of way to the base of the PWS facility.
10. Distance Between Towers: No freestanding PWS tower shall be installed less than five hundred feet (500') from any other freestanding PWS tower.
11. Height For Roof Mounted Towers: No PWS facility installed by structural attachment to a roof mounted PWS tower or directly to a building shall overhang or project more than twenty four inches (24") beyond the plane of any exterior wall of such building. No PWS facility installed by direct structural attachment to an existing structure shall exceed a total height of ten feet (10') above the height of such structure.
12. Height For Freestanding Towers: No freestanding PWS towers shall exceed a total height of twenty feet (20') above the zoning district's maximum building height, and no roof mounted PWS tower shall exceed a total height of twenty feet (20') above the height of the building to which it is attached, both as measured from grade to the highest point of the tower, including the height of any antennas attached thereto, unless the applicant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the planning, building and zoning commission that more height is physically necessary in order to permit the provision of personal wireless services and no alternative location or locations exist which would permit the provision of personal wireless services without a tower of such height in which case, the tower shall not exceed the minimum height necessary to provide personal wireless services.
D. Aesthetics, Screening, And Wall: PWS facilities shall be designed so as to be aesthetically compatible with the surrounding buildings and land uses in the area in which they are located, to the extent practical, in accordance with the following:
1. All new PWS facilities shall be designed to use materials, colors, and textures, which will visually blend with the surrounding property.
2. A well constructed masonry or stone wall (not to include concrete masonry units [CMUs]), not less than eight feet (8') in height from finished grade shall be provided around each freestanding PWS tower and its accessory structures. The perimeter of such wall shall be landscaped in a natural manner consistent with the surrounding area. Canopy trees, ornamental trees, evergreens and other plant material may be used, subject to review by the planning, building and zoning commission and approval by the village board. Access to the freestanding PWS facilities shall be provided through a locked gate.
E. Abandonment And Removal:
1. Abandonment: One of the conditions of a special use permit shall be that all equipment, structures and foundations be removed if the antenna and/or the antenna support structure are not in service. The telecommunication service provider shall provide the village with a copy of the FCC notice that an antenna site is taken out of service. Failure to provide such copy of the FCC notice, or failure to remove the antenna support structure within four (4) months of the date of such FCC notice shall result in a daily fine of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). In addition, the village retains the right to remove said antenna and/or antenna support structure after said four (4) month period and charge all costs and expenses of removal and restoration to the owner.
F. Application Requirements: Applicants for a special use permit and/or a building permit to construct PWS facilities shall provide the following plans, information and reports, in addition to any other requirements set forth in this code:
1. A site plan, drawn to scale, depicting the location, type and height of the proposed PWS facilities; on site land uses and zoning; adjacent land uses and zoning; adjacent roadways and proposed method of access; and setbacks from property lines.
2. A landscape plan depicting the method of screening and landscaping the PWS facilities in accordance with the provision of this section.
3. Architectural elevations of the proposed PWS facility and screening which indicate the proposed finished material and colors.
4. A current aerial photo depicting the location of the proposed PWS facility and delineating residential areas and the separation distance therefrom.
5. A legal description of the parcel.
6. Where the proposed PWS facilities include a new PWS tower: a) a report proving that a diligent effort has been made to locate the proposed PWS antennas on an appropriate existing PWS tower or other structure, and that, due to valid considerations including physical constraints, technical feasibility or refusal to lease by lessor, no other appropriate location is available; b) a technical report demonstrating by technological evidence that the height requested is the minimum height necessary to fulfill the site's function within the intended grid system; and c) an inventory of its PWS facilities within the village and within one-half (1/2) mile of the corporate limits of the village, including specific information detailing the location, height and design of each PWS tower or antenna.
7. A written statement by the applicant that the proposed PWS facilities will accommodate collocation of additional PWS antennas for future users, and that requests for collocation will be considered in good faith.
8. The operator of every personal wireless services facility shall submit to the village copies of all licenses and permits required by other agencies and governments with jurisdiction over the design, construction, location, and operation of such antenna and shall maintain such licenses and permits and provide evidence of renewal or extension thereof when granted. (Ord. 1312-10, 1-19-2010)