(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to regulate the placement, construction and modification of towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public, while at the same time not unreasonably interfering with the development of the competitive wireless telecommunications marketplace in the City. Specifically, the purposes of this chapter are:
(1) To direct the location of towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities in the City.
(2) To protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities.
(3) To minimize adverse visual impacts of towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities through careful design, siting, and landscaping techniques.
(4) To promote and encourage shared use/co-location of towers and Antenna Support Structures as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers.
(5) To avoid potential damage to adjacent properties caused by towers and Wireless Telecommu- nications Facilities by ensuring such structures are soundly and carefully designed, constructed, modified, maintained and removed.
(6) To the greatest extent feasible, ensure that towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities are compatible with surrounding land uses.
(7) To the greatest extent feasible, ensure that proposed towers and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities are designed in harmony with natural settings and in a manner consistent with current development patterns.
(b) Applicability.
(1) All towers, Antenna Support Structures, and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities, any portion of which are located within the city, are subject to this chapter.
(2) Except as provided in this chapter, any use being made of an existing tower or Antenna Support Structure on the effective date of this section (herein "Nonconforming Structures") shall be allowed to continue even if in conflict with the terms of this section. Any tower site that has received City approval in the form of a Special Permit or building permit, but has not yet been constructed or located, shall be considered a Nonconforming Structure so long as such approval is current and not expired.
(c) Use Regulations. Wireless Telecommunications Facilities shall be a conditional use in the Industrial Flex District, contingent upon a number of requirements being met. These criteria are in place in an attempt to minimize adverse health, safety, public welfare or visual impacts through buffering, siting, design and construction, and reduction of the need for new towers.
(d) Application Requirements. The following additional information shall be provided when applying for a conditional use approval:
(1) A plot plan indicating all building uses within 200 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/ or renderings may be required.
(2) A diagram or map showing the viewshed of the proposed Wireless Telecommunications Facilities or Antenna Support Structure.
(3) Photo simulations of the proposed facility from affected residential properties and public rights-of- way at varying distances.
(4) A list of the location of every tower, building, or structure within the area that could support the proposed antenna. The applicant must show that it has pursued a reasonable shared use arrangement with the owner(s) of the existing towers and that such pursuit was unsuccessful.
(e) Standards.
(1) The tower and Equipment Shelter shall be 1,000 feet from the nearest dwelling use or public park.
(2) The maximum size of the Equipment Shelter shall not exceed 400 square feet.
(3) Minimum setback for the tower from all property lines shall be a distance equal to the height of the tower. Setback shall be defined as the distance from the property line to the nearest portion of the structure. The Equipment Shelter shall meet the minimum setback requirements applicable to accessory structures.
(4) Underground wiring to the site shall be required.
(5) Equipment, mobile or immobile, not used in direct support of the transmission or relay facility, shall not be stored or parked on the site except in connection with a repair or maintenance being made to the installation.
(6) The owner of the tower shall annually file with the Building Officer a declaration ascertaining the continued operations, according to the Board of Zoning Appeal's approval, of each tower approved.
(7) Obsolete or unused facilities shall be removed within six (6) months of ceasing operation.
(8) No employees shall be employed on a regular basis at the installation site.
(9) The location of the tower and Equipment Shelter and Antenna Support Structure shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established in the Zoning Code.
(10) Security fencing eight (8) feet in height shall be required to surround the tower, Equipment Shelter and any guy wires, either completely or individually as determined by the Board of Zoning Appeals. No barbed or razor wire shall be permitted. The City and co-locators shall have reasonable access. No fence shall be required on top of a building or other structure if access to the roof or top of the structure or building is secure.
(11) Buffer plantings shall be located around the perimeter of the security fence as deemed appropriate by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Options are an evergreen screen to be planted that consists of either a hedge, planted three (3) feet on center maximum, or a row of evergreen trees planted five (5) feet on center maximum, or other screens determined to be appropriate by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(12) Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(13) The tower shall be painted a non-contrasting gray or similar color minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(14) Except for tower or Monopole structures, all appurtenances shall be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the surrounding environment.
(15) No advertising is permitted anywhere on the Wireless Telecommunications Facility, with the exception of identification signage.
(16) No tower under 150 feet shall be artificially lighted except to assure safety or as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(17) "No Trespassing" signs shall be posted around the Wireless Telecommunications Facility with a telephone number of who to contact in the event of an emergency.
(18) Underground Equipment Shelters are encouraged, and may be requested by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(19) Towers must be designed and certified by an Engineer to be structurally sound and, at a minimum, in conformance with the Ohio Basic Building Code.
(20) Any Wireless Telecommunications Facilities which are not attached to a tower shall be a permitted ancillary use to any commercial, industrial, or professional structure, regardless of the zoning restrictions applicable to the zoning district where the structure is located and a zoning permit shall be required and issued provided that the person making such ancillary use files a written certification with the City establishing the following:
A. The total height of the Antenna Support Structure and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities do not exceed the structural height limitations in the applicable zoning district by more than twenty (20) feet;
B. The Antenna Support Structure and Wireless Telecommunications Facilities comply with the Ohio Basic Building Code;
C. Any Wireless Telecommunications Facilities and its appurtenances, located on the roof of a building, are set back one (1) foot from the edge of the roof, not including the penthouse, for each one (1) foot in height of the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. However, this setback requirement shall not apply to antennas less than two (2) inches in thickness, which are mounted to the sides of Antenna Support Structures, but which do not protrude more than six (6) inches from the side of such an Antenna Support Structure;
D. The Wireless Telecommunications Facilities will utilize camouflaging techniques or will be side mounted to an Antenna Support Structure in order that the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities harmonize with the character and environment of the area in which they are located.
(21) No new tower shall be constructed in the City unless such tower is capable of accommodating at least one (1) additional Wireless Telecommunications Facility owned by other persons.
(Ord. 2022-110. Passed 12-12-22.)