13-1-1: PURPOSE:
The purpose of this chapter is to establish general guidelines for the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas. The goals of this chapter are to: a) protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas; b) encourage the location of towers in nonresidential areas; c) minimize the total number of towers throughout the community; d) strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single use towers; e) encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal; f) encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques; g) enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently; h) consider the public health and safety of communication towers; and i) avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures. In furtherance of these goals, the village of Pawnee shall give due consideration to its comprehensive plan, zoning map, existing land uses, and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas. (Ord. 02-02, 2-11-2002)