A. General design and aesthetic standards. All facilities must conform to the following standards.
1. Concealment.
a. All new facilities and substantial changes to existing facilities must incorporate concealment measures and/or techniques appropriate for the proposed location and design.
b. All ground-mounted equipment must be completely concealed to the extent feasible according to the following preferences, ordered from most preferred to least preferred:
i. Within an existing structure including, but not limited to, an interior equipment room, mechanical penthouse or dumpster corral
ii. Within a new structure designed to integrate with or mimic the adjacent existing structure
iii. Within an underground equipment vault if no other feasible above-ground design that complies with subsections (i) or (ii) exists.
2. Height.
a. General. All new facilities and substantial changes to existing facilities must not exceed the applicable zone height limit, provided, however, that the approval authority may approve height extensions of not more than eight feet above the applicable zone height limit when the proposed site is (1) mounted on the rooftop of an existing building; (2) completely concealed; and (3) architecturally integrated into the underlying building. This exception does not apply to any towers or utility poles.
b. Right-of-way. New facilities and substantial changes to existing facilities in the right-of-way must conform to the height limitations set forth in chapter 12-8 of this code.
3. Setbacks.
a. General. All facilities must comply with all applicable setback requirements of the zone where the facility is located.
b. Right-of-way. Facilities in the right-of-way shall conform to the clearance and location limitations set forth in chapter 12-8 of this code.
4. Collocation. Applicants shall design their facilities to accommodate future collocated facilities to the extent feasible.
5. Fences. The town will not approve any barbed wire, razor wire, or electrified fences associated with a proposed facility.
6. Landscaping. In addition to any landscaping required by the town for concealment or screening purposes, the applicant shall propose, install and maintain additional landscaping to replace any existing landscaping displaced during the construction or installation of the applicant’s facility on private property or in the right-of-way. The applicant’s landscaping plan shall be subject to the town’s approval.
7. Backup or standby power sources and generators. The town may not approve any fossil fuel-powered backup power sources or generators unless the applicant demonstrates that the facility cannot feasibly achieve its power needs with batteries, fuel cells, or other similarly non-polluting, low noise-level means.
8. Lights. Unless otherwise required under FAA or FCC regulations, applicants may install only timed or motion-sensitive light controllers and lights, and must install lights that comply with the town-adopted outdoor lighting code. Lighting must avoid illumination impacts to adjacent properties to the maximum extent feasible. The town may, in its discretion, exempt an applicant from the foregoing requirement when the applicant demonstrates a substantial public safety need. All aircraft warning lighting must use lighting enclosures that avoid illumination impacts to properties in the town to the maximum extent feasible.
9. Noise. All transmission equipment and other equipment, including without limitation air conditioners and sump pumps, associated with the facility must not emit sound that exceeds the applicable noise limits established by the town.
10. Signage and advertising. No facility may display any signage or advertisements unless expressly allowed by the town in a written approval, recommended under FCC regulations, or required by law or permit condition. Every facility shall at all times display signage that accurately identifies the facility owner and provides the facility owner’s unique site number, and also provides a local or toll-free telephone number to contact the facility owner’s operations center.
11. Code compliance. Applicant shall design and maintain all facilities in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, codes, regulations, ordinances or other rules.
B. Tower-mounted facilities. In addition to the general standards set forth in paragraph A of this section, all tower-mounted facilities must conform to the following standards.
1. General design preferences. All applicants should, to the extent feasible and appropriate for the proposed location, design new towers according to the following preferences, ordered from most preferred to least preferred:
a. Faux architectural features, include, but are not limited to, bell towers, clock towers, lighthouses, obelisks, and water tanks
b. Faux cactus
c. Monopalms.
2. Most disfavored designs. The town may not approve any designs that do not conceal the antennas within a radome or other concealment device without a limited exemption pursuant to this chapter.
3. Tower-mounted equipment. All tower-mounted equipment must be mounted as close to the vertical support structure as possible to reduce its visual profile. Applicants should mount non-antenna, tower-mounted equipment, including, but not limited to, remote radio units/heads, surge suppressors, and utility demarcation boxes, directly behind the antennas to the maximum extent feasible.
4. Ground-mounted equipment. Notwithstanding subparagraph 17-18-7 A. 1. b above, applicants must conceal ground-mounted equipment associated with tower-mounted facilities with opaque fences or other opaque enclosures. The town may require, as a condition of approval, design and/or landscape features in addition to other concealment when necessary to blend the equipment or enclosure into the surrounding environment.
5. Concealment standards for faux trees and cacti. All permits for faux tree and cactus facilities approved under this chapter are subject to the following required conditions of approval:
a. The canopy must completely envelop all tower-mounted equipment and extend beyond the tower-mounted equipment at least 18 inches;
b. The canopy must be naturally tapered to mimic the particular tree or cactus species;
c. All tower-mounted equipment, including all antennas, equipment cabinets, cables, mounts, and brackets, must be painted flat natural colors to mimic the particular tree or cactus species;
d. For faux trees, all antennas and other tower-mounted equipment cabinets must be covered to blend in with the faux foliage; and
e. For faux trees, the entire vertical structure must be covered with permanently-affixed three-dimensional faux bark cladding to mimic the particular tree species.
C. Building- or façade-mounted facilities. In addition to the general standards set forth in paragraph A above, all building- or façade-mounted facilities must conform to the following standards.
1. General design preferences. All applicants should, to the extent feasible, propose new non-tower facilities according to the following preferences, ordered from most preferred to least preferred:
a. Completely concealed and architecturally integrated façade- or rooftop-mounted base stations with no visible impacts from any publicly accessible areas at ground level, including, but not limited to, antennas behind existing parapet walls or façades replaced with RF-transparent material and finished to mimic the replaced materials
b. Completely concealed new structures or appurtenances designed to mimic the support structure’s original architecture and proportions, including, but not limited to, cupolas, steeples, chimneys, and water tanks.
2. Façade-mounted equipment. Applicants must conceal all façade-mounted transmission equipment behind screen walls as flush to the façade as practicable. The town may not approve any “pop-out” screen boxes unless the design is architecturally consistent with the original support structure. The town may not approve any exposed façade-mounted antennas, which includes exposed antennas painted to match the façade.
3. Rooftop-mounted equipment. The town may approve unscreened rooftop transmission equipment only when it expressly includes a condition of approval that the equipment is effectively concealed due to its low height and setback from the roofline.
4. Ground-mounted equipment. Outdoor ground-mounted equipment associated with base stations must be avoided whenever feasible. In locations visible or accessible to the public, applicants must conceal outdoor ground-mounted equipment with opaque fences or landscape features that mimic the adjacent structure(s), including, but not limited to, dumpster corrals and other accessory structures.
D. Facilities in the right-of-way. Facilities in the right-of-way must conform to the requirements of chapter 12-8 (wireless communication facilities in the right-of-way) of this code.