(A) Co-location requirements. All commercial wireless telecommunication towers erected, constructed or located within the jurisdiction of this chapter shall comply with the following requirements.
(1) New cellular/wireless/personal communications facilities and towers shall not be permitted within one mile of an existing cellular/wireless/personal communications facility or tower, unless the criteria of this section is met to the satisfaction of the County Board of Zoning Appeals; also, such tower shall be set back from any yard line or inhabitable building a distance of at least the distance of the height of the tower plus an additional 50 feet, unless the tower is of a collapsible type, in which case the tower must collapse within a fenced area. Excepting as set forth by I.C. 8-1-32.3-17(b), a permit authority may not impose a fall zone requirement that:
(a) Applies to a wireless support structure; and
(b) Is larger than the area within which the wireless support structure is designed to collapse, as set forth in the applicant’s engineering certification for the wireless support structure.
(2) However, a permit authority may impose a fall zone requirement that is larger than the area described in division (2) if the permit authority provides evidence that the applicant's engineering certification is flawed. The permit authority's evidence must include a study performed and certified by a professional engineer.
(3) A proposal for a new commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall not be approved unless the Board of Zoning Appeal finds that the telecommunications equipment planned for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower due to one or more of the following reasons:
(a) The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing or approved tower or building, as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer, and the existing or approved tower cannot be reinforced, modified or replaced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost;
(b) The planned equipment would cause interference materially impacting the usability of the other existing or planned equipment at the tower or building as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost;
(c) Existing or approved towers and buildings within the search radius cannot accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to function reasonably as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer; and/or
(d) Other unforeseen reasons that make it infeasible to locate the planned telecommunications equipment upon an existing or approved tower or building.
(4) Any proposed commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall be designed, structurally, electrically and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant’s antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users.
(5) All engineering plans of the tower and foundation, must be approved by a licensed structural engineer certifying the plans, design and fall area of a tower, and submitted with the permit application.
(B) Tower and antenna design requirements. Proposed and modified towers and antennas shall meet the following design requirements.
(1) Towers and antennas shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color and camouflaging architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) Commercial wireless telecommunication service towers shall be of a monopole design unless the Board of Zoning Appeal determines that an alternative design would better blend into the surrounding environment.
(C) Tower height. The maximum tower height permitted in the county is as follows.
(1) If the tower is designed to accommodate three common carriers/service providers, and the applicant has at least one written commitment from a common carrier to utilize the proposed facility/tower, the maximum height shall be 250 feet from grade.
(2) If the tower is designed to accommodate five common carriers/service providers, and the applicant has at least two written commitments from common carriers to utilize the proposed facility/tower, the maximum height shall be 400 feet from grade.
(3) No facility/tower including the height of any attached antenna, array, microwave, satellite and the like shall exceed the maximum tower height as set forth above.
(4) No facility/tower, including the height of any attached antenna, array, microwave, satellite and the like shall be permitted, placed or situated within a distance less than the height of the facility/tower, plus 50 feet from an adjoining property line or the edge of a road or highway right-of-way. Excepting as set forth by I.C. 8-1-32.3-17(b), a permit authority may not impose a fall zone requirement that:
(a) Applies to a wireless support structure; and
(b) Is larger than the area within which the wireless support structure is designed to collapse, as set forth in the applicant's engineering certification for the wireless support structure.
(5) All engineering plans of the tower and foundation, must be approved by a licensed structural engineer certifying the plans, design and fall area of a tower, and submitted with the permit application.
(D) Accessory utility building and uses.
(1) All utility buildings and structures accessory to a tower shall be architecturally designed to blend in with the surrounding environment and shall meet the minimum setback requirements of the underlying zoning district. Ground-mounted equipment shall be completely screened from view by suitable landscaping and/or vegetation, except where a design of non-vegetative screening better reflects and complements the architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood.
(2) Accessory uses for wireless communication facilities, cellular/wireless/personal communication towers shall not include:
(a) Offices;
(b) Long term vehicles storage;
(c) Broadcast studios, except if used only for emergency purposes; or
(d) Other uses that are not needed to send or receive transmissions.
(3) In no event shall accessory uses for a primary tower exceed 25% of the gross floor area used for transmission equipment and functions.
(E) Tower lighting. Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority for a particular tower and meet all state and federal safety requirements.
(F) Antennas mounted on structures, roofs, walls and existing towers. The placement of wireless telecommunication antennas on roofs, walls and existing towers may be approved by the Executive Director; provided, the antennas meet the requirements of these regulations, after submittal of:
(1) A final site and building plan as specified by these regulations; and
(2) A report prepared by a qualified and licensed professional engineer indicating the existing structure of tower’s suitability to accept the antenna, and the proposed method of affixing the antenna to the structure. Complete details of all fixtures and couplings, and the precise point of attachment shall be indicated.
(G) Temporary wireless communications facilities. Any facility designed for temporary use and defined in this section, is subject to the following.
(2) Temporary wireless facilities are permitted for use of no longer than 30 days for use while constructing permanent facilities, and no longer than five days for use during a special event.
(3) Temporary facilities are subject to all applicable portions of these regulations.
(H) Interference with public safety telecommunications. Neither new nor existing telecommunications service shall interfere with public safety telecommunications. All applications for new service shall be accompanied by an intermodulation study, which provides a technical evaluation of existing and proposed transmissions and indicated all potential interference problems. Before the introduction of a new service or changes in existing service, telecommunication providers shall notify the Executive Director of the County Area Plan Commission at least ten calendar days in advance of such changes to allow any employee or agent for the county to monitor interference levels during the testing process.
(I) Abandoned or unused towers or portions of towers. Abandoned or unused towers or portions of towers shall be removed as follows. The owner of a wireless facility shall file annually a declaration with Executive Director as to continuing operation of every facility installed subject to these regulations. Failure to do so shall be determined to mean that the facility is no longer in use and considered abandoned, thus subject to the following. All abandoned or unused towers and associated facilities shall be removed within 180 days of the cessation of operations at the site unless a time extension is approved by the Executive Director. A copy of the relevant portions of a signed lease which requires the applicant to remove the tower and associated facilities upon cessation of operations at the site shall be submitted at the time of application. In the event that a tower is not removed within 180 days of the cessation of operations at a site, the tower and associated facilities may be removed by the county and the costs of removal assessed against the property owner and/or property.
(J) Signs and advertising. The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
(Ord. passed - -2006, § 80.49(D); Ord. 2019-02, passed 4-22-2019) Penalty, see § 156.999