The following requirements shall 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 1390.03 and 1390.04.
(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 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 the 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) A landscaped buffer area of not less than ten feet in depth shall be placed between the wireless telecommunications facilities and public rights-of-way, residential zoning districts and any adjacent residential uses. The ten-foot landscaped 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 service providers who or which supply service within a quarter-mile radius 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 letter or letters, as well as any response or responses thereto, shall be presented to the Planning Commission as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower.
(g) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to the Building Inspector notifying him or her 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, a designated local official 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 Inspector and will 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 Municipality will remove, or contract to have removed, the facility, and assess the owner/operator for the costs thereof.
(h) 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 requirements as prescribed by the FAA. Security lighting around the equipment shelter is permitted.
(i) “No Trespassing” signs shall be posted around the facility with a telephone number of the person to contact in the event of an emergency.
(j) 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.
(k) A conditional use permit must be approved by the Building Inspector and/or Council with a subsequent building permit issued by the Building Inspector for construction of new towers in nonresidential 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.
(l) 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.
(m) Underground equipment shelters are encouraged, especially in nonindustrial districts, and may be requested by the Planning Commission.
(n) The owner or operator shall agree to remove an obsolete facility within twelve months of ceasing its use.
(o) Outdoor storage of any supplies, vehicles or equipment relating to the use of the facility is prohibited.
(p) No antenna or tower may be illuminated nor may any lighting fixtures be attached to the antenna or tower, except as required by law or to protect the safety of the general public.
(q) No device shall be attached to a tower or the outside of a base building, except for those designated and intended exclusively for the transmission of communication, radio and/or electronic signals.
(r) No advertising of any nature shall be attached to the tower or the base building.
(s) The tower shall be painted a noncontrasting gray or similar color minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by Planning Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(t) The applicant must provide written certification from a registered engineer that the antenna and the tower are to be constructed in compliance with all applicable Federal, State and local regulations pertaining to the construction.
(Ord. 1997-39. Passed 10-14-97.)