The following requirements apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities regardless of the zoning district in which they are to be located. These general standards are to be supplemented with those specific regulations for the district in which the facility is located as set forth in this chapter.
(a) Only monopole wireless telecommunication towers and their associated supporting buildings shall be allowed in the City. All monopole wireless telecommunication towers shall be designed to meet all necessary requirements without the use of guy wires and shall meet the further criteria set forth herein.
(b) When the proposed wireless telecommunications facility is to include a tower, a plot plan at a scale of not less than one inch is equal to twenty feet shall be submitted. This plot plan shall indicate all building uses within 500 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/or renderings may augment the plot plan if required by the Planning Commission.
(c) The location of the tower and equipment shelter shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established in the Zoning Code, including those for floodplain, wetlands and steep slopes.
(d) Security fencing eight feet in height shall surround the tower, equipment shelter, and all related facilities, either completely or individually, as determined by the the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission may refer the plan to the Architectural Board of Review for any aesthetic considerations.
(e) A landscaped buffer area, as approved by the Planning Commission, shall be placed between the wireless telecommunication facilities and the public rights-of-way, residential zoning districts, and any adjacent residential uses or other adjacent uses as determined necessary by the Planning Commission. A landscape buffer shall consist of a minimum of the following: Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent practical. All towers shall be landscaped with at least two rows of evergreen trees or shrubs planted in a staggered pattern to provide maximum screening, such planting area to be a minimum of fifteen feet deep. Such trees shall be a minimum of six feet high when planted and spaced not more than ten feet apart. These trees and shrubs shall be planted in any configuration which will serve to better buffer the site as approved by the Planning Commission. The size of said hedges and trees are to be approved by the Planning Commission as it relates to each individual location. Additional landscaping may be required by the Planning Commission.
(f) Any applicant requesting permission to install a new tower shall provide evidence of written contact with all wireless service providers who supply service within a quarter mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire, to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission, about potential collocation opportunities at all technically feasible locations. The contacted providers shall be requested to respond in writing to the inquiry within thirty days. The applicant's letter(s) as well as response(s) shall be presented to the Planning Commission as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower.
(g) Any application to locate an antenna on a building or structure that is listed on an historic register, or in a historic district shall be subject to review by the City's Architectural Board of Review if required by the Planning Commission.
(h) As a condition of issuing a permit to construct and operate a tower in the City, the owner/operator of the tower is required to allow collocation until said tower has reached full antenna capacity, but in no way fewer than three additional antennas for three additional providers. Agreement to this provision must be included in the lease by the landowner, if different from the owner/operator of the tower. Written documentation must be presented to the Planning Commission and Council evidencing that the landowner of the property on which the tower is to be located has agreed to the terms of this section as well as the requirements, regulations and standards established in this chapter. As an additional condition of issuing the permit to construct and operate the tower in the City, the owner/ operator of the tower is required to sign a statement that all disputes with future providers concerning collocation and the terms and conditions of collocation shall be submitted to commercial arbitration under a system selected by the parties, but if the parties are unable to agree, then under the auspices of the commercial arbitration provisions of the American Arbitration Association.
(i) The tower shall be a non-contrasting gray or similar color as approved by the Planning Commission to minimize its visibility, unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The entire facility must be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the environment, as reasonably determined by the Planning Commission. The use of residentially compatible exterior materials such as wood, brick or other approved material is required for associated equipment buildings, which shall be designed to architecturally match the exterior of residential structures within the neighborhood where the facility is constructed in a residential district as permitted herein. In no case shall industrial siding or concrete block exteriors be allowed for equipment shelters or accessory buildings. The tower itself must be of such design and treated with an architectural material so that it is camouflaged or blends in with surrounding uses so as to be visually compatible with the neighborhood.
(j) No advertising is permitted anywhere on the facility, with the exception of identification signage and as provided in subsection (n) hereof.
(k) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to the Building Commissioner notifying him or her of any tower facility located in the Municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date the use will cease. Such notification shall be made at least thirty days prior to said date. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for 180 days, the Building Commissioner shall declare the facility abandoned. (This excludes any dormancy period between the construction and the initial use of the facility.) The facility's owner/operator will receive written notice from the Building Commissioner and instructed to either reactivate the facility's use within 180 days, or dismantle and remove the facility. If reactivation or dismantling does not occur, the Municipality will remove or will contract to have the facility removed and assess the landowner or the operator the costs thereof. The Planning Commission shall require the owner/operator of the facility to post a performance bond in an amount determined by the Planning Commission to assure conformity with this requirement.
(Ord. 97-48. Passed 6-2-97.)
(l) All towers above 100 feet shall be artificially lighted. In addition, all FAA regulations addressing safety marking and obstruction lighting shall be followed when necessary. Security lighting around the equipment shelter may be required by the Planning Commission and shall be approved by the Planning Commission.
(Ord. 98-73. Passed 7-6-98.)
(m) Towers and antennas shall be designed to withstand sustained winds of at least eighty m.p.h. with one-half-inch of icing, or not less than that required by the ANSI/EIA or the Ohio Building Code, whichever is more restrictive.
(n) Towers shall be designed to support a minimum of four antennas.
(o) "No Trespassing" signs shall be posted around the facility with a telephone number of whom to contact in the event of an emergency.
(p) Applicants will provide evidence of legal access to the tower site, thereby maintaining this access regardless of other developments that may take place on the site.
(q) A conditional use permit shall be approved by the Planning Commission and confirmed by Council, with a subsequent building permit issued by the Building Commissioner for construction of new towers in permitted districts. Collocation of antennas on a single tower, antennas attached to existing structures/buildings, or replacement towers to be constructed on the site of a current tower are permitted uses as provided herein and shall be subject to the conditional use permitting process.
(r) Any decision to deny a request to place, construct, or modify a wireless telecommunications antenna and/or tower shall be in writing and supported by evidence contained in a written record of the proceedings of the Planning Commission or Council.
(s) Underground equipment shelters are encouraged and may be requested by the Planning Commission.
(t) The applicant shall provide written certification from a registered engineer that the antenna and/or tower is to be constructed in compliance with all applicable, Federal, State, and local regulations pertaining to such construction.
(u) A proposed new tower in a nonresidential district shall not be located within 300 feet from any residential zoning district or from any residentially used property.
(v) There shall be a separation of at least two miles between new wireless telecommunications towers. The Planning Commission may waive this requirement for wireless telecommunication towers associated with or within existing structures, such as electrical high-tension towers.
(Ord. 97-48. Passed 6-2-97.)