(a) The following requirements apply to all Towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities regardless of the zoning district in which they are to be located. These general standards are to be supplemented with the specific regulations for nonresidential districts as set forth in Sections 1339.08 and 1339.09 herein.
(1) When the proposed Wireless Telecommunications Facility or Antenna Support Structure is to be located on or affixed to a new Tower or Antenna Support Structure, a plot plan at a scale of not less than one inch equals 50 feet shall be submitted to the Planning Commission. This plot plan shall indicate all building uses within 200 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/or renderings may augment the plot plan.
(2) Photosimulations of the proposed Wireless Telecommunications Facility from effected residential properties and public right-of-way at varying distances shall be provided.
(3) The location of the Tower and Equipment Shelter and Antenna Support Structure shall comply with all laws and regulations relating to flood plains, wetlands and steep slopes.
(4) Security fencing eight feet in height shall surround the Tower, Equipment Shelter and any guy wires, either completely or individually as determined by the Planning Commission. Razor wire shall not be used in security fencing, and no barbed wire shall be permitted in residential neighborhoods. The City and co-locators shall have reasonable access, and the exterior portion of the security fencing shall have a locked “Knox Box” which contains the keys and/or the access code to that facility such that entry to the facility can be obtained on an immediate basis by police, fire, emergency, and other safety personnel. No fence shall be required on top of a building or other structure if access to the roof or top of the structure is secure.
(5) Buffer plantings shall be located around the perimeter of the security fence as approved by Planning Commission. Options are an evergreen screen to be planted that consists of either a hedge, planted three feet on center maximum, or a row of evergreen trees planted five feet on center maximum, or other screens determined to be appropriate by the Planning Commission.
(6) Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(7) Compliance with co-location requirements as set forth in Section 1339.05, below.
(8) Any application to locate a Wireless Telecommunications Facility on a building or structure that is listed on an historic register, or is in an historic district, shall be subject to review and approval by the Historic Lancaster Commission in addition to any other required review and approval processes.
(9) Towers shall either maintain a non-contrasting gray or similar color or have a dull, non-glare, non-reflective galvanized steel finish unless otherwise required by the City or any applicable standards of the FAA, the FCC, and the Ohio Department of Transportation.
(10) At a Tower site, the design of the buildings and related structures shall use materials, colors, textures, and screening so as to be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the surrounding environment, as approved by the Planning Commission.
(11) If an Antenna is installed on a structure other than a Tower, the Antenna and the supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to, or closely compatible with, the color of the supporting structure so as to make the Antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible, as determined by the Planning Commission.
(12) All Towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC, and any other agency of the state or federal government with the authority to regulate Towers and Antennas. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the Towers and Antennas governed by this Ordinance shall bring such Towers and Antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within six (6) months of the effective date of such standards and regulations unless a different compliance schedule is mandated by the controlling federal or state requirements or agencies. Failure to bring Towers and Antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for removal of the Tower or Antenna at the owner’s expense.
(13) Except as otherwise provided herein, no signs shall be allowed on an Antenna or Tower except that “No Trespassing” signs shall be posted around the Antenna or Tower with a telephone number of who to contact in the event of an emergency. Any such identification signage shall be in accordance with the City sign code.
(14) A. Under no circumstances shall a tower exceed a total height of two hundred (200) feet as measured from grade to the top of the highest point of the Tower or Antenna or other equipment affixed thereto.
B. Where the Applicant seeks to install a Tower with the height of no less than one hundred and fifty (150) feet and no more than two hundred (200) feet, the Applicant shall be required to make leased space available on that Tower for Antennas and related equipment from no less than two (2) additional telecommunications providers.
C. Where the Applicant seeks to install a Tower with a height of less than one hundred and fifty (150) feet, the Applicant shall be required to make leased space available on said Tower for Antennas and related equipment from no less than one (1) additional telecommunications provider.
D. No Tower shall be artificially lighted except to assure safety or as required by the FAA.
(15) Underground Equipment Shelters are encouraged in Residential Districts, and may be requested by the Planning Commission.
(16) To insure the structural integrity of Towers, the owner of a Tower shall ensure that it is maintained in compliance with standards contained in applicable state or local building codes and the applicable standards for Towers that are published by the Electronics Industries Association, as amended from time to time. If, upon inspection, the City concludes that a Tower fails to comply with such codes and standards and constitutes a danger to person or property, then upon notice being provided to the owner of the Tower, the owner shall have thirty (30) days to bring such Tower into compliance with such standards. Failure to bring such Tower into compliance within said thirty (30) days shall constitute grounds for the removal of the Tower or Antenna at the owner’s expense.
(17) The maximum height of any Equipment Shelter shall be no more than twenty (20) feet above grade and shall contain no more than four hundred (400) square feet for a single shelter and no more than eight hundred (800) square feet if there is more than one shelter.
(18) Towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities must be designed by an Engineer who shall provide a structural plan of the Tower or Wireless Telecommunications Facility and who shall certify the same to be structurally sound and, at a minimum, in compliance with the Ohio Basic Building Code.
(19) Applicant shall present a signed affidavit indicating:
A. The Applicant agrees for so long as the Tower or Antenna Support Structure has not been abandoned, to allow for the potential co-location of additional Wireless Telecommunications Facilities by other providers on the Applicant’s structure or within the same site location; and
B. That the Applicant agrees to remove the facility within one hundred eighty (180) days after the site’s use is discontinued.
(b) Any Wireless Telecommunications Facilities which are not attached to a Tower shall be a permitted ancillary use to any commercial, industrial, or institutional structure, regardless of the zoning restrictions applicable to the zoning district where the structure is located, provided that the Person making such ancillary use first files a written certification with the Planning Commission establishing, to the reasonable satisfaction of the Planning Commission.
(1) That the total height of the Antenna Support Structure and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities do not exceed the structural height limitations in the applicable zoning district under the Code by more than twenty (20) feet;
(2) That the Antenna Support Structure and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities comply with the Ohio Basic Building Code;
(3) That any Wireless Telecommunications Facilities and their appurtenances, located on the roof of a building are set back one (1) foot from the edge of the roof, not including the penthouse, for each one (1) foot in height of the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. However, this setback requirement shall not apply to Antennas less than two (2) inches in thickness, which are mounted to the sides of Antenna Support Structures, but which do not protrude more than six (6) inches from the side of such an Antenna Support Structure. This requirement is subject to change by the Planning Commission upon review of the photosimulation provided in compliance with Section 1139.04.
(4) That the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities will utilize camouflaging techniques or will be side-mounted to an Antenna Support Structure in order that the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities harmonize with the character and environment of the area in which they are located. Notwithstanding the above, where an Applicant seeks to locate a Wireless Telecommunications Facility in an historic district or on an historic building, the Applicant shall be required to obtain approval of the Historic Lancaster Commission prior to locating the Wireless telecommunications Facility in said district or on said structure.
(Ord. 43-02. Passed 11-25-02.)