The following requirements apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities regardless of the zoning district in which they are to be located. These general standards are to be supplemented with the specific regulations for nonresidential and residential districts as set forth in Sections 1198.03 and 1198.04.
(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 is equal to 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 floodplain, 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) A landscaped buffer area of not less than ten feet in depth shall be placed between the wireless telecommunications facilities, the public rights-of-way, residential zoning districts, and any adjacent residential uses. The ten-foot landscape buffer shall consist of a tight screen fence of hardy evergreen shrubbery not less than six feet in height.
(e) Existing vegetation (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 written contact with all wireless telecommunications service providers who supply service within a quarter mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall be required to collocate at all technically feasible locations. The existing providers shall be required to respond in writing to the inquiry within thirty days. The applicant's letter(s) as well as responses shall be presented to the Planning Commission 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 municipality's Architectural Review Board or Building Commissioner if there is no such review board.
(h) The tower shall be painted a noncontrasting gray or 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 the Building Commissioner notifying the Building Commissioner of any tower facility located in the Municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date this use will cease. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for 180 days, the Building Commissioner may declare the facility abandoned. (This excludes any dormancy period between construction and the initial use of the facility.) The facility's owner/operator will receive written notice from the Building Commissioner and 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 Municipality will remove or will contract to have removed the facility and assess the owner/operator the costs.
(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) Towers and antennas shall be designed to withstand sustained winds of at least 100 miles per hour.
(m) "No Trespassing" signs shall be posted around the facility with a telephone number of who to contact in the event of an emergency.
(n) 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.
(o) A conditional use permit must be approved by City Council with a subsequent building permit issued by the Building Commissioner for construction of new towers in nonindustrial districts. Collocation of antennas on a single tower, antennas attached to existing structures/buildings, towers located in industrial districts, or replacement towers to be constructed at the site of a current tower, are permitted uses and will not be subject to the conditional use permitting process.
(p) 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.
(q) Underground equipment shelters are encouraged, especially in nonindustrial districts, and may be requested by the Planning Commission.
(r) The applicant must provide written certification from a registered engineer that the antenna and/or tower are to be constructed in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local regulations pertaining to the construction.
(s) A proposed new tower in a nonresidential district shall not be located within 1,000 feet from any residential zoning district or from any residentially used property.
(t) There shall be a separation of at least one quarter mile between new wireless telecommunications towers. The Planning Commission may waive this requirement for wireless telecommunications towers associated with or within existing structures, such as electrical high-tension towers.
(Ord. 399-96. Passed 4-14-97.)