All wireless telecommunication facilities shall comply with the following minimum standards:
(a) No wireless telecommunication facility shall be permitted on a parcel of land with an existing residential use or on a parcel of land zoned for residential purposes, unless such parcel is being used for nonresidential, public facility purposes, such as, but not limited to, a publicly-owned park, government building or structure.
(b) The applicant requesting permission to install a new wireless telecommunication tower shall provide evidence that there is no technically suitable space for the applicant's antenna(s) and related facilities reasonably available on an existing tower, building or structure within the geographic area to be served. With the application, the applicant shall list the location of every tower, building or structure that could support the proposed antenna(s) or area where it would be technically suitable to locate so as to allow it to serve its intended function. As part of its application, the applicant shall provide a scaled map of all of its antenna locations, existing and proposed/planned, within a five (5) mile radius of the site which is the subject of the application.
The applicant must demonstrate that a technically suitable location is not reasonably available on an existing tower, building or structure. If an existing tower, building or structure is technically suitable, the applicant must demonstrate that it has made written request to collocate on the existing tower, building or structure and said request was rejected by the owner of the tower, building or structure. In all circumstances, owners of existing towers shall promptly respond in writing to requests for collocation, but in no event shall they respond more than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a written request for collocation. If another telecommunication tower is technically suitable, the applicant must further show that it has offered to allow the owner of that other tower to collocate an antenna(s) on another tower within the Village which is owned or controlled by the applicant, if available, on commercially reasonable terms and the offer was not accepted.
(c) An applicant for construction of a wireless telecommunication tower shall be required to construct a base tower structure and structure foundation that is designed to be buildable up to, but not including, 200 feet above the grade approved by the Village. Such structure shall be designed to have sufficient structural loading capacity to accommodate at least three (3) antenna platforms or antenna arrays of equal loading capacity for three (3) separate providers of service to be located on the structure when constructed to the maximum allowable height. The wireless telecommunication facility shall also be designed to show that the applicant has enough space on its development plan for an equipment shelter large enough to accommodate at least three (3) separate users of the facility. If an equipment shelter is initially constructed to accommodate only one (1) user, space shall be reserved on site for equipment shelter expansions to accommodate up to at least three (3) separate users. Agreement to the provisions of this subsection must be included in the applicant's lease with the landowner, if different from the owner/operator of the tower. Written documentation must be presented to the Village evidencing that the landowner of the property on which the tower is to be located has agreed to the terms of this subsection. As an additional condition of issuing a building permit, the owner/operator/applicant shall respond in writing to any inquiries regarding collocation of another user of the facility within thirty (30) days after receipt of a written inquiry. Copies of all written requests to collocate and all written responses shall be sent to the Mayor.
(d) A report shall be prepared and submitted by a qualified and licensed professional engineer and shall provide proof of compliance with all applicable federal, state, county, and Village regulations. The report shall include a detailed development plan, a detailed description of the wireless telecommunication tower, antenna(s), equipment shelter, and appurtenances, and shall verify that radio frequency (electromagnetic) emissions are in compliance with the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
(e) Minimum Setbacks.
(1) A wireless telecommunication tower shall be set back from property lines a distance of at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the height of the tower from the natural grade at the site or the required setback in the zoning district in which it is located, whichever is greater.
(2) A wireless telecommunication facility shall be set back a minimum distance of 500 feet from any school building used for sheltering students.
(3) In no event shall a wireless telecommunication tower or facility be located in front of the principal building on the parcel of land, if any.
(f) All wireless telecommunication towers shall be of a monopole design, as opposed to a lattice tower design. No guy wired towers shall be permitted.
(g) Only one wireless telecommunication tower shall be located on a lot of record duly recorded with the County Recorder's office.
(h) There shall be a separation of at least one half mile between wireless telecommunication towers, including a separation of at least one-half mile from any such tower located outside the corporate limits of the Village.
(i) The height of a free-standing wireless telecommunication tower, antenna, and appurtenances shall be less than 200 feet.
(j) The applicant shall submit a plan documenting how the wireless telecommunication facility will be maintained on the site in an ongoing manner that meets industry standards.
(k) On each biennial anniversary of the issuance of the building permit for a wireless telecommunication facility, or not more than ninety (90) days prior thereto, the owner/operator shall submit to the Village a report prepared by a licensed professional engineer(s) which shall verify continued compliance of the facility with all governmental requirements including, but not limited to, the structural integrity and stability of any towers or antennas, electrical safety standards, and auxiliary power source safety standards.
(l) Except as required by law, an antenna or a tower shall not be illuminated and lighting fixtures or signs shall not be attached to the antenna or tower. If lighting is required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, the most visually nonobtrusive "state-of-the-art" lighting available shall be used, unless otherwise required by the FAA.
(m) A security fence not less than eight (8) feet in height including barbed wire on the top of the fence, shall fully enclose those portions of the wireless telecommunication facility which come in contact with the ground. Gates shall be locked at all times.
(n) A landscaped buffer area of not less than fifteen (15) feet in depth shall be placed between the wireless communication facilities and the public rights-of-way and any adjacent properties from which a direct view can be had of the facilities, other than the tower itself. The fifteen (15) foot landscaped buffer shall have a tight screen fence of hardy evergreen shrubbery not less than six feet in height. The landscaping shall be continuously maintained and promptly restored, if necessary.
(o) No advertising sign(s) shall be permitted anywhere on a telecommunication tower, equipment shelter, and appurtenances or on the site.
(p) A permanent warning sign with a minimum size of two (2) square feet and a maximum size of six (6) square feet shall be posted on the site as well as an emergency telephone number of the owner/operator of each set of antennas on the site. The owner/operator shall also provide the Building Inspector, the Fire Department servicing the Municipality, and the Village Police Department with information on whom to contact, an address, and a telephone number in the event of an emergency.
(q) There shall be no outdoor storage of equipment or other items on the site except during the facility construction period and to supply emergency power to the facility only during a power outage.
(r) The access drive to the wireless telecommunication facility shall, whenever feasible, be provided along with circulation drives of the existing use on the parcel of land, if any. Where use of an existing access drive is not feasible, the access drive to the facility shall be a minimum of eighteen (18) feet in width with a minimum overhead clearance of eleven (11) feet and shall be set back a minimum of twenty (20) feet from the nearest side or rear property line. This driveway shall meet the load limitations for fire equipment. If the access drive to the facility is more than 500 feet from the public right-of-way, a turnaround shall be provided for emergency vehicles at the site and a by-pass, adequate for emergency vehicles, with an approachable access shall be provided for each additional 500 feet of the access drive. There shall be only one (1) off-street parking space on the site.
(s) The wireless telecommunication antennas shall be of a panel design and mounted flush to the tower, building or structure which elevates the antennas, unless the applicant can demonstrate that it is not feasible from an engineering standpoint to use such antennas or to mount them in such a fashion.
(t) All wireless telecommunication facilities shall be subject to approval by the Planning Commission and subject to its requirements. The color of a wireless telecommunication tower and/or antennas shall be as determined by the Planning Commission in order to minimize its visibility unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(u) After issuance of a building permit to construct a wireless telecommunication facility, the applicant shall commence construction within 160 days and shall complete construction within one (1) year or the building permit shall expire.
(v) The maximum cumulative total size of all equipment shelters accessory to a telecommunication tower or antenna on a parcel of land shall be 600 square feet and their maximum height shall be fifteen (15) feet from the approved grade at the site for a shelter with a pitched roof and a maximum height of ten (10) feet from the approved grade at the site for a shelter with a flat roof. Only one equipment shelter, or the configuration of more than one shelter to appear that there is one shelter, shall be permitted on a parcel of land. The roof and facade of the equipment shelter shall be compatible as to architectural design and materials with the principal building on the parcel of land, if any.
(w) All utility lines from the utility source to the wireless telecommunication facility shall be underground.
(x) If at any time the use of the telecommunication facility is discontinued for ninety (90) consecutive days, said facility shall be deemed abandoned. The Building Inspector shall notify the applicant in writing and advise that the facility must be reactivated within ninety (90) days or the entire facility must be dismantled and removed from the site and the site restored to a landscaped condition within that same ninety-day (90) period and at the cost of the owner/operator. The owner/operator of the telecommunication facility shall, on no less than an annual basis from the date of issuance of the building permit, file a declaration with the Building Inspector as to the continuing operation of every facility which is subject to this Chapter.
(y) The owner/operator of the wireless telecommunication facility shall be required as a condition of issuance of a building permit to post a performance guarantee acceptable to the Law Director of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per vertical foot from natural grade of the wireless telecommunication facility. If an access drive which is separate from an existing access drive on the property is required to be constructed for a wireless telecommunication facility, the owner/operator of the facility shall also be required as a condition of issuance of a building permit to post a performance guarantee acceptable to the Law Director of not less than thirty dollars ($30.00) per linear foot of access drive. Said performance guarantee(s) shall insure that an unused, abandoned, obsolete or destroyed wireless telecommunication facility and/or access drive shall be removed within ninety (90) days of cessation of use or abandonment. Any successor-in-interest or assignee of the owner/operator shall be required to additionally execute such performance guarantee(s), as principal, to insure that the performance guarantee(s) will be in place during the period of time that the successor-in-interest or assignee occupies the facility.
(Ord. 2012-21. Passed 7-11-12.)