(A) Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section to facilitate the deployment of necessary telecommunication services that are the least visibly intrusive type of installation that is not proven to be commercially or technologically impracticable and that will effectively prohibit the applicant from accomplishing its intended goal(s).
(B) Siting hierarchy and preferences. The following list indicates the town's preferences for facility locations, in descending order of preference:
(1) Antennae co-location on an existing tower;
(2) Concealed (stealth) antennae on existing building/structure;
(3) New concealed (stealth) tower 50 feet in height or less;
(4) Building mounted antennae;
(5) Small wireless collocation meeting standards of division (E) below;
(6) Small and micro wireless facilities;
(7) New concealed (stealth) wireless facilities over 50 feet in height;
(8) Building-mounted wireless support structure with antennae;
(9) New freestanding non-stealth wireless facilities (monopoles).
(C) What information the town may consider in evaluating applications.
(1) When considering applications for wireless facilities, the town shall comply with the requirements of G.S. Chapter 160D, Article 9, Part 3, "Wireless Telecommunications Facilities," the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended (specifically 47 U.S.C. § 332 and § 1455), and the Reports and Orders of the Federal Communications Commission, including 09-99 and 14-153.
(2) When considering a permit application for a wireless facility, the town shall not require information about and the permit-issuing authority shall not consider the following:
(a) An applicant's business decisions about its designed service;
(b) Customer demand for an applicant's service;
(c) The quality of an applicant's service to or from a site;
(d) The radio frequency emissions that will be produced by the facility.
(3) When considering an application for a wireless facility that requires a special use permit, the permit issuing authority may consider the following:
(a) Issues pertaining to public safety, aesthetics, landscaping, structural design, setbacks, and fall zones;
(b) Information or materials directly related to an identified public safety, zoning or other land development issue, including evidence that no existing or previously approved structure can reasonably be used for the antenna placement instead of the construction of a new tower; that residential, historic, and designated scenic areas cannot be served from outside the area; or that the proposed height of a new tower or initial antenna placement or a proposed height increase of a modified tower (wireless support facility), replacement tower, or collocation is necessary to provide the applicant's designed service; and
(c) For permit applications for new wireless facilities, whether it is reasonably feasible to collocate new antennas and equipment on an existing structure or structures within the applicant's search ring. Collocation on an existing structure is not reasonably feasible if the applicant shows by verifiable technical evidence that the collocation is technically or commercially impractical or the owner of the existing structure is unwilling to enter into a contract for such use at fair market value.
(D) Additional approval standards and processes.
(1) For all wireless telecommunication facilities.
(a) Abandonment.
1. Wireless services providers are required to remove an abandoned wireless facility within 180 days of abandonment. Should the wireless services provider fail to timely remove the abandoned wireless facility, the town may cause such wireless facility to be removed and may recover the actual cost of such removal, including legal fees, if any, from the wireless services provider. For purposes of this division, a wireless facility shall be deemed abandoned at the earlier of the date that the wireless services provider indicates that it is abandoning such facility or the date that is 180 days after the date that such wireless facility ceases to transmit a signal, unless the wireless services provider gives the town reasonable evidence that it is diligently working to place such wireless facility back in service.
2. This section applies to rights-of-way controlled by the N.C. Dept. of Transportation and the town.
(b) Prior to erecting a telecommunications tower or antenna or accessory communication facility or installing same on any structure, any builder, user, carrier and the like, shall submit documentation that the telecommunications tower or antenna or accessory communication facility will meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards and applicable Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and comply with all other federal, state and local laws and regulations.
(c) Replacement or alteration of non-conforming telecommunications towers or antenna. Non- conforming telecommunications towers or antennae or accessory communication facility shall be treated the same as any other non-conforming use under this article.
(d) Color and lighting. The entire wireless telecommunications facility must be aesthetically compatible with its environment. If not stealth facilities, towers should be of a color that will blend with the surroundings. Example: brown/green/gray. Telecommunications towers, antennae and accessory communication facilities shall not be artificially lighted, except where otherwise required by the FAA, FCC or other federal or state agencies. Where the agencies allow a choice between painting the tower or installing lighting, painting shall be the choice selected.
(2) Stealth antenna; stealth wireless telecommunications facilities.
(a) Security fencing shall not be required for accessory communication facilities.
(b) Stealth wireless support structures located within non-residential zoning districts shall have a minimum setback from the base of the wireless support structure to the lot boundaries equal to 80% of the height of the wireless support structure or equal to the minimum structure setback otherwise required by this article, whichever is greater.
(c) Setback in residential districts. The stealth antenna and wireless support structure shall be setback the distance required for the use being mimicked. For example, an antenna discussed as a steeple shall be set back the distance required for churches.
(3) Monopoles greater than 50 feet in height.
(a) No new wireless telecommunication facilities may be established if there is space available on an existing communications tower within the geographic area that the proposed tower is to serve.
(b) No equipment, mobile or immobile, not used in direct support of the transmission or relay facility shall be stored or parked on the site unless repairs to the facility are being made.
(c) An opaque screen expected to reach a minimum of eight feet in height at maturity shall be planted around the perimeter of the area occupied by the tower, security fencing and auxiliary uses such as parking. In addition, existing on-site trees and other vegetation shall be preserved to the extent practicable to maintain the entire site of the tower (including any anchoring devices) in its pre-construction appearance.
(d) If a wireless support structure is located on a lot adjacent to a lot or lots located in a Residential or Mixed-Use District, it must be located at least 200% of the total constructed structure height from all property lines adjacent to the Residential or Mixed-Use District(s).
(e) The maximum height of a wireless support structure shall be 180 feet.
(f) Wireless support structures shall be of a monopole construction (lattice and guyed towers shall not be permitted).
(g) No signs or logos of any type shall be allowed on any telecommunications tower at any time.
(h) Security fencing. There shall be minimum eight-foot high fence installed and maintained by the owner of the wireless telecommunications facility around the perimeter of the wireless support structure compound.
(i) Setbacks in non-residential zoning districts. Except as provided in division (3)(d) above, all wireless support structures located within non-residential zoning districts shall have a minimum setback from the base of the wireless support structure to the lot boundaries equal to 80% of the height of the wireless support structure or equal to the minimum structure setback otherwise required by this article, whichever is greater.
(4) Streamlined process for collocation applications. Qualified applications for the collocation of wireless facilities shall be entitled to streamlined processing. Streamlined processing means that the application shall be reviewed for conformance with applicable site plan and State Building Code requirements but that shall not otherwise be subject to zoning application requirements or public hearing requirements. Streamlined processing shall be completed within 45 days of the town's receipt of a completed application. The town shall provide written notice that an application is incomplete within 30 days of the receipt of the application. (See Table 2 below for more deadlines.) To qualify for streamlined processing, the new facility shall either:
(a) Not exceed the number of wireless facilities previously approved for the wireless support structure on which the collocation is proposed and meet all the other requirements of the original approval; or
(b) Meet the following requirements:
1. The collocation does not increase the overall height and width of the tower or wireless support structure to which the wireless facilities are to be attached;
2. The collocation does not increase the ground space area approved in the site plan for equipment enclosures and ancillary facilities;
3. The wireless telecommunications facilities in the proposed collocation comply with applicable regulations, restrictions, or conditions, if any, applied to the initial wireless facilities placed on the tower or other wireless support structure;
4. The additional wireless facilities comply with all federal, state and local safety requirements; and
5. The collocation does not exceed the applicable weight limits for the wireless support structure; or
6. The collocation is not a substantial modification.
(E) Exception for small and/or micro wireless facilities.
(1) The streamlined process described in division (D)(1) above is available for small/micro wireless facilities meeting the definitions in § 8-3.10.3 if the facilities:
(a) Meet the height requirement of Table 1 and are located:
(b) In town-owned rights-of-way; or
(c) Outside of the rights-of-way on property that is not zoned Historic District, General Residential, or Neighborhood Residential.
Table 1: Small Wireless Facility Height Requirements | ||
New, modified or replacement utility pole town utility pole (height in feet) | Height of small wireless facility above utility pole, wireless support structure or town utility pole | Total height (in feet) |
50 above ground level | 10 feet | 60 |
EXCEPTION for properties zoned Historic District, General Residential or Neighborhood Residential, where utilities are underground: New modified or replacement utility poles, town utility poles and wireless support structures may be no taller than 40 feet. | ||
(2) Exception to division (E)(1) above for small and/or micro wireless facilities above, no application, permit or fee is required under the zoning ordinance for:
(a) Routine maintenance; or
(b) The replacement of small wireless facilities with small wireless facilities; or
(c) Installation, placement, maintenance or replacement of micro wireless facilities that are suspended between existing utility poles or town utility poles; or
(d) Communication services providers authorized to occupy town rights-of-way who are paying taxes under G.S. §§ 105-164.4(a), (4c) or (6).
(3) Town may deny an application for a small wireless facility only on the basis that it does not meet any of the following:
(a) The town's applicable codes;
(b) Local code provisions or regulations that concern public safety, objective design standards for decorative utility poles, town utility poles, or reasonable and nondiscriminatory stealth and concealment requirements, including screening or landscaping for ground-mounted equipment;
(c) Public safety and reasonable spacing requirements concerning the location of ground-mounted equipment in a right-of-way; or
(d) The requirements of any Historic District.
(4) The application for a small wireless facility must include a sworn, notarized attestation that the small wireless facilities collocated on utility poles, town utility poles, or wireless support structures shall be:
(a) Activated for use by a wireless services provider to provide service no later than one year from the permit issuance date, and
(b) Collocation shall commence within six months of the permit issuance date; and
(c) If not, the permit may be revoked.
(5) (a) Applicants for small wireless facilities may file a consolidated application for no more than 25 separate facilities and receive a permit for the collocation of all the small wireless facilities meeting the requirements of this section. Town may remove small wireless facility collocations from a consolidated application and treat separately small wireless facility collocations:
1. For which incomplete information has been provided; or
2. That are denied.
(b) The town may issue a separate permit for each collocation that is approved.
(6) Applications for small wireless facilities to be located in town rights-of-way shall meet the requirements of Chapter IX, Streets and Sidewalks.
(F) (1) Schedule for permit review.
Table 2: Permit Review Schedule | |||
Facility requested | Time to deem application complete (days) | Time to decision after application is complete (days) | Total time to decide (days) |
Collocation | 45 | 45 | 90 |
Small/micro wireless collocation | 30 | 45 | 75 |
New wireless facility, substantial modification or small/micro wireless facility (not a collocation) | 90 | 150 | 150 |
(2) Section 8-3.8.5, Table of Uses shall identify the type of permit required by zoning district. All complete applications shall follow the procedural requirements of the Development Ordinance subject to the following exception.
(a) A request for a special use permit will automatically be placed on the agenda for the Board of Adjustment such that the 150-day shot clock may be satisfied.
(Adopted 5-1-2018) (Amended 6-1-2021)