(A) Purpose. To accommodate the communication needs of residents and businesses while protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community, the Council finds that these regulations are necessary to:
(1) Facilitate the provision of wireless telecommunication services to the residents and businesses of the city;
(2) Restrict the location of antennas and towers and impose design standards to minimize adverse visual effects of antennas and towers;
(3) Require evidence of structural integrity and impose setback requirements to avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from antenna or tower failure; and
(4) Require applicants for antenna or tower permits to maximize the use of existing towers and buildings to accommodate new antennas to reduce the number of towers needed to serve the community.
(B) Antennas and towers.
(1) Establishment of a conditional or interim use of antennas and towers. The City Council establishes that the construction and operation of antennas and towers in any of the City's Zoning Districts is allowable only after issuance of a conditional or interim use permit.
(2) Location of antennas and towers and permit requirements. Except as set forth in division (B)(3), antennas and towers may be constructed and operated within the corporate city limits only with and after the property owner, or a party with a right to possess the property under a valid lease, obtains a conditional or interim use permit pursuant to this section.
(3) Exceptions. The following towers and antennas are not subject to this section:
(a) Towers and antennas the city constructs and operates for city use;
(b) Towers and antennas identified as accessory uses in the city's Zoning Code; and
(c) Towers or antennas that are located entirely within a structure that complies with the height, bulk, density, and area requirements of the city's Zoning Code and are not visible from the exterior of the structure.
(C) Permit applications and application fee. Applicants for an antenna or tower conditional or interim use permit must file an application permit with the City Administrator and pay an application fee to the city.
(D) Building permit requirements. In addition to the requirement for a conditional or interim use permit, no antenna or tower and no accessory building intended to serve a tower may be erected, constructed or located within the city until the applicant has obtained a building permit pursuant to the City Code. As a condition of the city's issuance of the building permit, the applicant must provide evidence, reasonably acceptable to the city, that the antenna or tower complies with any applicable Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
(E) Criteria for approval. The Council must consider the following criteria in determining whether to grant or deny a conditional or interim use permit for a tower or antenna:
(1) The proposed tower or antenna's compliance with the performance standards described in the City Code;
(2) The potential for the tower or antenna to cause a condition that may pose an unreasonable threat or cause unreasonable damage to any other property or person;
(3) The impact of the proposed tower or antenna on the environment and on the visual image of the surrounding area;
(4) A proposal for a new tower must not be approved unless the City Council finds that the antenna and other equipment planned for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing tower or building within a one mile radius (0.5 mile radius for towers under 120 feet in height or 0.25 mile radius for towers under 60 feet in height) of the proposed tower due to one or more of the following reasons:
(a) The antenna and other equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing towers or available buildings, as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer, and the existing tower cannot be reinforced, modified, or replaced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost;
(b) The planned equipment would cause interference impacting the usability of existing equipment at the tower or building as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost;
(c) Existing towers and buildings within the search radius cannot accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to function reasonably as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer; and
(d) Other unforeseen reasons that make it infeasible to locate the planned telecommunications equipment upon an existing or approved tower or building.
(F) Performance standards. If a conditional or interim use permit is granted, the permit holder must at all times comply with the following requirements.
(1) Tower and antenna design requirements. Towers and antennas must meet the following design requirements:
(a) Towers and antennas must be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color and camouflaging architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration;
(b) Towers must be of a mono-pole design unless the City Council determines that an alternative design is necessary for the proposed use or would better blend into the surrounding environment.
(2) Tower and antenna setback requirements. Antennas and towers must conform with each of the following minimum setback requirements:
(a) Antennas and towers must be set back from structures existing on the property on which the antenna or tower is located or on adjacent properties a distance not less than the height of the antenna or tower;
(b) Antennas and towers must meet the setbacks of the underlying zoning district;
(c) Antennas and towers must be set back from all existing and planned public rights-of-way of the city by a minimum distance equal to the height of the tower;
(d) Antennas and towers shall not be located between a principal structure and a public street with the following exceptions:
1. In industrial zoning districts, antennas and towers may be placed within a side yard abutting an internal industrial street;
2. On sites adjacent to public streets on all sides, antennas and towers may be placed within a side yard abutting a local street;
(e) The setback for an antenna or tower may be reduced or its location in relation to a public street varied, at the sole discretion of the City Council, to allow the integration of a tower into an existing or proposed structure such as a church steeple, light standard, power line support device, or similar structure.
(3) Tower lighting. An antenna or tower must not be illuminated by artificial means and must not display strobe lights unless the lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority for a particular tower. When incorporated into the approved design of a tower, light fixtures used to illuminate ball fields, parking lots, or similar areas may be attached to a tower.
(4) Signs and advertising. The use of any portion of an antenna or tower for signs other than warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
(5) Accessory utility building. All utility buildings, structures, and equipment accessory to an antenna or tower must be architecturally designed to blend in with the surrounding environment and must meet the minimum requirements of the underlying zoning district.
(6) Screening requirements. Ground mounted antennas and utility buildings, structures and equipment accessory to an antenna or a tower must be screened from view in conformance with the screening requirements in the City Zoning Code.
(7) Location. Any proposed tower must be designed, structurally, electrically, and in all respects to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users if the tower is over 100 feet in height or for at least one additional user if the tower is over 60 feet in height. Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennas upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at varying heights.
(G) Conditions. Unless modified by the City Council, all conditional or interim use permits for antennas and towers are subject to the following conditions:
(1) The permit holder must obtain all FAA and FCC approvals for the tower or antenna;
(2) The permit holder must remove any abandoned or unused towers or portions thereof within 12 months of the cessation of operations at the site unless the City Council approves a time extension;
(3) Towers and antennas must not interfere with public safety telecommunications;
(4) No change in the use of a tower or antenna may be made without the consent of the City Administrator after the applicant provides the City Administrator with all information the City Administrator may reasonably require to determine that the modification in service or use will not cause the antenna or tower to violate the performance standard set forth in this Code or the conditions of the existing conditional or interim use permit.
(Ord. 109, 5th Series, passed 6-3-1999; Ord. 94, passed 6-19-2018)