Cellular antenna towers for cellular telecommunications services or personal communications services may be allowed in any zone after a Planning Commission review in accordance with the following procedures to ascertain agreement with the adopted Comprehensive Plan and the regulations contained within this chapter.
(A) Applicability. Every utility, or company that is engaged in the business of providing the required infrastructure to a utility, that proposes to construct a cellular antenna tower shall submit a completed uniform application to the Planning Commission. Where the Planning Commission finds that circumstances or conditions relating to the application of an alternative cellular antenna tower are such that one or more of the requirements of the uniform application listed below are not necessary or desirable for the protection of surrounding property or the public health, safety and general welfare, and that such special conditions or circumstances make one or more said requirements unreasonable, the Planning Commission, or its duly authorized representative, may modify or waive such requirement of the uniform application, either permanently or on a temporary basis. Any such modification or waiver shall be requested by the applicant, and the applicant shall submit a written justification for each requested modification or waiver. The Planning Commission shall not regulate the placement of antennas or related equipment on an existing structure.
(B) Uniform application requirements. Applications for the construction of cellular antenna towers for cellular telecommunications services or personal communications services shall include the following:
(1) The full name and address of the applicant;
(2) The applicant’s articles of Incorporation, if applicable;
(3) A geotechnical investigation report signed and sealed by a professional engineer registered in the commonwealth that includes boring logs and foundation design recommendations;
(4) A written report, prepared by a professional engineer or land surveyor registered in the commonwealth, of findings as to the proximity of the proposed site to flood hazard areas;
(5) The lease or sale agreement for the property on which the tower is proposed to be located, except that if the agreement has been filed in abbreviated form with the County Clerk, an applicant may file a copy of the agreement as recorded by the County Clerk and, if applicable, the portion of the agreement that specifies. In the case of abandonment, a method that the utility will follow in dismantling and removing the proposed cellular antenna tower, including a timetable for removal;
(6) The identity and qualifications of each person directly responsible for the design and construction of the proposed tower;
(7) A site development plan or survey, signed and sealed by a professional engineer registered in the commonwealth, that shows the proposed location of the tower and all easements and existing structures within 500 feet of the proposed site on the property on which the tower will be located, and all easements and existing structures within 200 feet of the access drive, including the intersection with the public street system;
(8) A vertical profile sketch of the tower, signed and sealed by a professional engineer registered in the commonwealth, indicating the height of the tower and the placement or all antennas;
(9) The tower and foundation design plans and a description of the standard according to which the tower was designed, signed and sealed by a professional engineer registered in the commonwealth;
(10) A map, drawn to a scale no less than one inch equals 200 feet, that identifies every structure and every owner of real estate within 500 feet of the proposed;
(11) A statement that every person who, according to the records of the property valuation administrator, owns property within 500 feet of the proposed tower or property contiguous to the site upon which the tower is proposed to be constructed has been:
(a) Notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the proposed construction, which notice shall include a map of the location of the proposed construction;
(b) Given the telephone number and address of the local Planning Commission; and
(c) Informed of his or her right to participate in the Planning Commission’s proceedings on the application.
(12) A list of the property owners who received the notice, together with copies of the certified letters sent to the listed property owners;
(13) A copy of the notice that the chief executive officer of the affected local government and the legislative body (i.e., City Mayors; City Commissioners; County Judge Executive; and County Fiscal Court), have been notified, in writing, of the proposed construction;
(14) A statement that the applicant has considered the likely effects of the installation on nearby land uses and values and has concluded that there is no more suitable location reasonably available from which adequate service to the area can be provided, and that there is no reasonably available opportunity to locate its antennas and related facilities on an existing structure, including documentation of attempts to locate Its antennas and related facilities on an existing structure, if any, with supporting radio frequency analysis, where applicable, and a statement indicating that the applicant attempted to locate its antennas and related facilities on a tower designed to host multiple wireless service providers’ facilities or on an existing structure, such as a telecommunications tower or other suitable structure capable of supporting the applicant’s antennas and related facilities;
(15) A map of the area in which the tower is proposed to be located, that is drawn to scale, and that clearly depicts the necessary search area within which an antenna tower should, pursuant to radio frequency requirements, be located; and
(16) A grid map that shows the location of towers or other structures (including buildings) located within the search ring for the subject facility and which are capable of its support within an area that includes:
(a) All of the planning unit’s jurisdiction (McLean County, Kentucky);
(b) A one-half-mile area outside of the boundaries of the planning unit’s jurisdiction, if that area contains either existing or proposed construction sites for cellular antenna towers; and
(c) All information contained in the application and any updates, except for any map or other information that specifically identifies the proposed location of the cellular antenna tower then being reviewed, shall be deemed confidential and proprietary within the meaning of KRS 61.878. The Planning Commission shall deny any public request for the inspection of this information, whether submitted under the commonwealth’s Open Records Act, being KRS 61.870 et seq. or otherwise, except when ordered to release the information by a court of competent jurisdiction. Any person violating this division (B)(16)(c) shall be guilty of official misconduct in the second degree as provided under KRS 522.030. The confidentiality of the applications and any updates of the application can be waived by the written authorization of the applicant.
(C) Application fee. An applicant for the construction of cellular antenna towers for cellular telecommunications services or personal communications services shall pay an application fee in the amount set by the Planning Commission upon submission of a uniform application.
(D) Processing of application. Applications for the construction of cellular antenna towers for cellular telecommunications services or personal communications services shall be processed as follows.
(1) At least one public hearing on the proposal shall be held, at which hearing interested parties and citizens shall have the opportunity to be heard. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published at least once, in the highest circulation newspaper in the city-county; provided that, one publication occurs not less than seven calendar days nor more than 21 calendar days before the occurrence of such hearing. A public notice sign will also be placed on the property by the Planning Commission.
(2) Notice of the hearing shall be given at least 14 days in advance of the hearing to the owner of every parcel of property within 500 feet of the proposed tower or property contiguous to the site upon which the tower is proposed to be constructed. Records maintained by the property valuation administrator may be relied upon conclusively to determine the identity and address of said owner. In the event a property is in condominium or cooperative forms of ownership, then the person notified by mail shall be the president or chairperson of the owner group that administers property commonly owned by the condominium or cooperative owners. A joint notice may be mailed to two or more co-owners of an adjoining property who are listed in the property valuation administrator’s records as having the same address.
(3) Upon holding the hearing, the Planning Commission shall, within 60 days, commencing from the date that the application is received by the Planning Commission, or within a date specified in a written agreement between the Planning Commission and the applicant, make its final decision to approve or disapprove the uniform application. If the Planning Commission fails to issue a final decision within 60 days, and if there is no written agreement between the Planning Commission and the utility to a specific date for the Planning Commission to issue a decision. It shall be presumed that the Planning Commission has approved the utility’s uniform application.
(Ord. 20.920-1, passed 3- -2020)