§ 156.29 SHARED USE.

   (A)   Facility design. All new telecommunications towers shall be designed to structurally accommodate shared use.

      (1)   To encourage the maximum use of existing towers, no building permit or variance shall be required for the addition of one or more antennas to and existing tower provided:

         (a)   The height of the tower or structure on which the antenna is placed is not increased;

         (b)   The applicant complies with the requirements of §§ 156.27(B) and 156.28 of this chapter; and

         (c)   The owner provides prior written notice to the city of the additional antennas.

   (B)   New towers. As conditions of approval of a new freestanding conditional use tower in a residential district other than R5 or R6, or a new tower in an R5, R6 or nonresidential district, the owner shall:

      (1)   Record the letter of intent required by this code, in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for the county in which the tower site is located;

      (2)   Respond in a timely, comprehensive manner to a request for information from a potential shared use applicant;

      (3)   Negotiate in good faith for shared use by third parties;

      (4)   Allow shared use where the third party seeking the use enters into a written agreement to pay a reasonable, pro rata share of the costs of the tower and all equipment buildings, including all charges necessary to modify, but not totally reconstruct, the tower and transmitters to accommodate shared use, and to avoid interference with the signals transmitted or received by the tower’s users; and

      (5)   These conditions of approval shall be a covenant running with the land and be binding on the current owner and all successors in interest of the tower site.

   (C)   Where an owner whose tower was approved after the effective date of this chapter wilfully and knowingly fails to comply with the requirements of division (B), the city may withhold approval of any application by the owner for a building permit, conditional use permit or variance for any tower or antenna.

   (D)   Shared use shall not be precluded because a reasonable fee for shared use is charged, or because reasonable costs may be incurred to adapt the existing and proposed uses to a shared tower.

      (1)   The Director, the Planning and Zoning Commission or the City Council may consider expert testimony to determine whether the anticipated fees and costs are reasonable.

      (2)   Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed unreasonable.

(2000 Code, § 15.74.050) (Ord. 2556, § 5, passed - -2001)