(A) Purpose and scope. The primary intent of this section is to regulate the location and use of telecommunications towers, antennas, and related equipment (“telecommunications facilities”) to be located within the city. Therefore, the purpose of this section shall be to:
(1) Comply with all federal and state regulations regarding the placement, use, and maintenance of telecommunications facilities;
(2) Encourage the continued improvement of wireless telecommunications service in the city;
(3) Minimize, to the extent permitted by law, the proliferation of unsightly towers and equipment throughout the city;
(4) Promote both property maintenance and renovation of telecommunications equipment;
(5) Recognize the commercial communication requirements of all sectors of the business and residential communities.
(B) Zoning districts permitted. Telecommunications facilities are permitted in all zoning districts within the city as a conditional use, subject to the satisfaction of the requirements imposed by this section.
(C) Priority.
(1) Telecommunications towers and equipment locations are subject to the following order of priority:
(a) Public property, as defined within § 155.03 of the Telecommunications Towers and Equipment Code, then;
(b) Industrial I-1 and I-2 and agricultural zoned property, but if no such properties are commercially feasible for purchase or lease by the applicant for the conditional use permit, then;
(c) Commercial C-l, C-2, and C-3 zoned property, but if no such properties are commercially feasible for purchase or lease by the applicant for the conditional use permit, then;
(d) Residential R-l, R-2, R-2A, R-3, and R-4 zoned property (collectively an “avoidance site”), except in the case of public property.
(2) A telecommunication tower and equipment typically shall not be located in an avoidance site, except in the case of public property, unless the applicant can demonstrate, by a written statement from a licensed engineer certifying that this regulation “has the effect of prohibiting” service as provided for in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended from time to time, unless a tower is constructed in an avoidance site. See § 155.05(C)(8)(d) of the Telecommunications Towers and Equipment Code.
(D) Application.
(1) An application requesting a conditional use permit for the construction of a telecommunications facility shall be submitted to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals for review. Following a public hearing, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall then review the application and present it to the City Council with its recommendation regarding the approval or disapproval of the conditional use permit. The City Council shall consider the Zoning Board of Appeals’s recommendations regarding the application, and shall vote on the application at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting or at a special meeting of City Council properly noticed, which vote shall be binding and final regarding the decision to grant or deny the conditional use application.
(2) The applicant must serve, personally or via U.S. Mail, all adjacent landowners with a notice of the above-described public hearing no later than 15 days prior to the hearing. Proof of service upon the adjacent landowners shall be provided by the applicant to the Zoning Board of Appeals at or prior to the public hearing, and a finding shall be made whether the proof of service was filed in the Zoning Board of Appeals recommendation. For purposes of this section, ADJACENT LANDOWNERS shall include property owners directly adjacent to the proposed location or those directly across any street or alley from the proposed location.
(E) Grounds for denial of application. The City Council shall issue a final and binding determination as to whether to grant or deny the application for a conditional use permit for a telecommunications facility. Applications may be denied on any of the following grounds:
(1) Finding that the proposed telecommunications facility would be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare due to the proposed site location;
(2) Finding that the proposed telecommunications facility would destroy the essential nature or character of the location of the proposed site;
(3) Finding that the proposed telecommunications facility would cause actual harm to a location with historical or cultural significance;
(4) Finding that the proposed telecommunications facility would cause actual harm to the environment due to the location of the proposed site;
(5) Finding that the proposed telecommunications facility would be or is noncompliant with any applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, any other ordinances of the city.
(Ord. 2023-8, passed 9-13-2023)