The following requirements shall apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities, regardless of the zoning district in which they are to be located:
(a) When the proposed wireless telecommunications facility is to include a new tower, a plot plan, at a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet, shall be submitted. This plot plan shall indicate all building uses within 300 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/or renderings may augment the plot plan.
(b) The location of the tower and equipment shelter shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established in this Zoning Code, including those for floodplains, wetlands and steep slopes.
(c) Security fencing eight feet in height shall surround the tower, equipment shelter and any guy wires, either completely or individually, as determined by the Planning Commission.
(d) The following buffer plantings may be located around the perimeter of the security fence, as deemed appropriate by the Planning Commission (and by Council for a special planned development): An evergreen screen shall be planted that consists of either a hedge, planted three feet on center maximum, or a row of evergreen trees, planted five feet on center maximum.
(e) Existing vegetation, i.e. trees and shrubs, shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(f) Any applicant requesting permission to install a new tower shall provide evidence of a written contact with all wireless service providers who supply service within a fourth of a mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire 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 letters and responses shall be presented to the Planning Commission (and to Council for a special planned development) 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 is in an historic district, shall be subject to review by the Planning Commission (and by Council for a special planned development).
(h) The tower shall be painted a noncontrasting gray or a similar color minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(i) No advertising is permitted anywhere on the facility, with the exception of identification signage.
(j) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to a Building and Zoning Inspector notifying him or her of any tower facility located in the Municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date such use will cease. If, at any time, the use of a facility is discontinued for 180 days, the City Administration may declare the facility abandoned. The facility’s owner/operator will receive written notice from a Building and Zoning Inspector and shall be 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 City will remove, or will contract to have removed, the facility and shall assess the owner/operator the costs. The owner/operator shall post a bond in a form and in an amount sufficient to ensure compliance herewith, to be determined and approved by the City Solicitor and the Municipal Engineer.
(k) No tower under 150 feet shall be artificially lighted, except to assure safety or as required by the FAA. Any tower between 150 and 200 feet in height shall follow safety marking and obstruction lighting as prescribed by the FAA. Security lighting around the equipment shelter is permitted.
(l) “No Trespassing” signs shall be posted around the facility with the telephone number of the person to contact in the event of an emergency.
(m) 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.
(n) A site plan must be approved by the Planning Commission, and a development with a subsequent building permit issued by a Building and Zoning Inspector for the construction of new towers, the collocation of antennas on a single tower, antennas attached to existing structures or buildings, or replacement towers to be constructed at the site of a current tower, shall also comply with such procedures.
(1) An applicant shall present a landscaping plan that indicates how the wireless telecommunications facility will be screened from adjoining uses.
(2) The applicant shall demonstrate that the telecommunications tower must be located where it is proposed in order to service the applicant’s service area. There shall be an explanation of why a tower and this proposed site are technically necessary.
(3) Where the telecommunications facility is located on a property with another principal use, the applicant shall present documentation that the owner of the property has granted an easement or has entered into a lease for the proposed facility and that vehicular access is provided to the facility.
(4) 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 fourth of a mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire 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 letters and responses shall be presented to the Planning Commission as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower.
(o) 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 (and of Council for a special planned development).
(Ord. 56-1997. Passed 7-14-97.)