A. Description: Communication towers, telecommunications towers and related facilities, constructed for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas.
B. Included uses: Self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, or monopole towers, radio and transmission towers, microwave towers, common carrier towers, cellular telephone towers and other similar structures, and any antenna or antenna array attached to the tower structure.
C. Use conditions: Antennas and their supporting structures shall meet the following requirements:
1. Exclusions: The following activities shall be exempt from these regulations:
a. Amateur radio operations;
b. Microwave reflectors and parabolic antennas;
c. Antennas and equipment completely located inside of buildings; and
d. Minor modifications of existing wireless communications facilities and attached wireless communications facilities, whether emergency or routine, provided there is little or no change in the visual appearance. Minor modifications are those modifications, including the addition of antennas, to conforming wireless and attached wireless communications facilities that meet the performance standards set forth in this zoning code.
2. General Requirements For Antennas And Towers:
a. Principal Or Accessory Use: Towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. A different existing use on the same lot shall not preclude the installation of a tower on such lot.
b. Towers And Antennas Design:
(1) Towers and antennas shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color, galvanizing, or camouflaging architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the federal aviation administration.
(2) Other than in industrial heavy intensity zoning districts, communication towers shall be of a monopole design unless the planning commission determines by special use that an alternative design would adequately blend into the surrounding environment, or that the required antennas cannot be supported by monopole.
c. Not Essential Services: Towers shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this title and shall not be regulated or permitted as essential services, public utilities, or private utilities.
d. Tower Lighting: Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and shall not display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other Federal or State authority for a particular tower. When incorporated into the approved design or the tower, light fixtures used to illuminate ball fields, parking lots, or similar area may be attached to the tower.
e. Signs And Advertising: The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
f. Accessory Utility Buildings: All utility buildings and structures accessory to a tower shall meet all the requirements of the underlying zoning district. Exterior ground mounted equipment occupying more than fifty (50) square feet, if visible from ground level, shall be screened from view from property within three hundred feet (300') that is used for residential purposes.
g. Setbacks: The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers; provided, however, that the Planning Commission may modify the requirements by special use permit:
(1) Towers must be set back a distance equal to at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the height of the tower from any adjoining lot line of a Residential, Office, Historic District or Agricultural zoned lot, excluding expressway rights-of-way zoned residential.
(2) Guys and accessory building must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements.
h. Security Fencing: Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six feet (6') in height or shall be equipped with an approved anticlimbing device; provided, however, that the Planning Commission may modify or waive such requirements by special use.
i. Engineer's Certification; Collocation: Certification from a professional engineer licensed to practice in the State of Oklahoma shall be submitted that the antenna and antenna supporting structure is designed in such a manner as to accommodate the collocation of a minimum of three (3) wireless telecommunication system providers, and it shall meet the standards of the American National Standards Institute and the Electronic Industries Association. Further, certification from such an engineer shall be required upon completion of construction that the antenna and antenna supporting structure has, in fact, been constructed in accordance with the plans as approved by the City prior to the commencement of its operation. Collocation of facilities should be encouraged wherever practical by allowing reasonable extra height or tower diameter necessary to support multiple antennas.
j. Proximity To Other Sites: Written evidence shall be presented to the City by the applicant that the new facility is not closer than one-fourth (1/4) mile from any existing site or site for which an application is pending.
3. Antennas And Towers Permitted By Administrative Approval: Antennas or tower, except those approved or requiring approval by the Planning Commission, shall be permitted by right, provided a permit is obtained from the City prior to construction and provided that the towers shall comply with the following standards:
a. When located in a Commercial, Central Business, or Corridor, or Industrial Zoning District, towers shall be set back from an Agriculture, Residential, Office, or Historic District boundary line one hundred ten percent (110%) of the height of the tower measured at grade, provided however that the setback may be modified by special use by the Planning Commission.
b. When antennas are to be attached to a roof or wall of buildings in Commercial or Industrial Districts, or to office or multi-family buildings of two (2) or more stories, or to institutional buildings such as schools, churches and hospitals with existing architectural elements more than thirty five feet (35') tall, provided that:
(1) An antenna does not extend more than twenty feet (20') above the highest point of the building, or, if located on an architectural feature such as a steeple or bell tower, does not protrude above that structure; provided, however, that the Planning Commission may modify such requirements by special use; and
(2) The antennas comply with all applicable FCC and FAA regulations; and
(3) The antennas comply with all applicable building codes.
c. When antennas are to be attached to an existing tower, and/or City owned buildings or structures.
d. When the tower is to be modified or reconstructed to accommodate the collocation of antennas; and
(1) The tower is of the same type as the existing tower or is to be constructed as a monopole; and
(2) The modification or reconstruction does not exceed thirty feet (30') over the height of the existing tower and all use conditions are met.
4. Antenna And Towers Requiring Special Uses: If a tower or antenna is not permitted as an administrative approval of this use unit, a special use shall be required for the construction of a tower in all zoning districts. A site plan shall be provided drawn to an appropriate scale, specifying property lines, location of transmission buildings or other accessory uses, required setback lines, parking, access, fences, adjacent land uses, landscaping, easements and public utilities.
a. Factors To Be Considered In Granting A Special Use: In addition to any other requirement of this section, the following factors shall be considered in the determination to grant or deny a special use for an antenna or tower:
(1) Height of the proposed tower;
(2) Proximity of the tower to residential structures, residential district, boundaries or historic structures;
(3) Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties;
(4) Surrounding topography;
(5) Surrounding tree coverage and foliage;
(6) Design of the tower, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness;
(7) The total number and size of antennas proposed and the ability of the proposed tower to accommodate collocation;
(8) Architectural design of utility buildings and accessory structures to blend with the surrounding environment;
(9) Proposed ingress and egress;
(10) The need of the applicant for a communications tower within the immediate geographic area to provide an acceptable level of communications service to the area;
(11) The size of the tract and the most likely future development as indicated by the Comprehensive Plan, planned infrastructure, topography and other physical facts.
b. Landscaping: The following requirements shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers for which a special use is required; provided, however, that the Planning Commission may modify or waive such requirements by special use:
(1) Tower facilities shall be landscaped with a continuously maintained buffer of plant material that effectively screens the view of the tower compound from property within three hundred feet (300') that is used for residential purposes. The standard buffer shall consist of a landscaped strip at least four feet (4') wide outside the perimeter of the compound.
(2) Existing mature tree growth and natural landforms on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In some cases, such as towers sited on large, wooded lots, natural growth around the property perimeter may be sufficient buffer.
5. Removal Of Abandoned Towers: Any tower that is not operated for a continuous period of twelve (12) months shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of such tower shall remove the same within ninety (90) days of receipt of notice from the City of Okmulgee notifying the owner of such abandonment. Failure to remove the abandoned antenna or tower within said ninety (90) days shall be grounds for the City of Okmulgee to remove the antenna or tower at the owner's expense. Any abandoned tower that is not current in the structural safety inspection required by Okmulgee Building Code may be subject to the nuisance abatement procedures of the City of Okmulgee. (Ord. 2101, 2017: Ord. 1953, 2010)