In the interest of general safety and welfare of the public, all wireless telecommunication facilities are subject to the following conditions:
(a) Telecommunication facilities shall not be permitted within three hundred (300) feet of any residentially zoned area.
(b) Telecommunications towers shall not exceed two hundred (200) feet in height. The telecommunication tower design must withstand at least one hundred (100) mile an hour winds. Towers shall have no handholds or footholds closer to finished grade than forty (40) feet.
(c) No equipment shelter shall exceed three hundred (300) square feet. Combined square feet of all shelters shall not exceed six hundred (600) square feet. Equipment shelters shall not exceed twenty (20) feet in height. Underground equipment shelters or support facilities are encouraged and may be required by the Planning Commission.
(d) If the telecommunications facility is built as an accessory use of a site, the facility shall not be located between the principal building and any public right-of-way.
(e) All Telecommunication facilities including a telecommunication tower, any guy wires, and any structures shall be surrounded by a fence at least six (6) feet in height, and the fence shall be locked to prohibit unauthorized access. An evergreen screen shall be planted around the fence, with exception to the entrance, that will achieve a height of at least five (5) feet, and shall be maintained by the applicant or his or her representatives.
(f) All towers and fencing shall be painted to blend in with its environment and minimize its visibility unless prohibited by FCC or FAA.
(g) No signals, lights or other illumination shall be permitted, unless required by FAA regulation, other federal or state law, or otherwise authorized. Lighting of accessory structures for security purposes is permissible but shall be so arranged so as to direct and reflect light away from any adjacent residential property or public way. W hen lighting of a tower is required, it shall be placed on the tower and designed in such a way as to minimize glare on adjacent residential properties.
(h) No commercial advertising shall be allowed on a tower or antenna, except for antennas attached to an existing and approved sign. Towers may have safety or warning signs in appropriate places. No trespassing or similar warning signs shall be posted around the facility with an emergency telephone number indicating the person(s) or authority to contact in the event of an emergency.
(i) All utility service to a facility shall be provided underground.
(j) Facilities shall be fully automated and unattended on a daily basis and shall be visited only for periodic and necessary maintenance or emergency situations after construction.
(k) The applicant must agree to permit other wireless telecommunications service providers to collocate onto the proposed facility, unless mechanical, structural, or regulatory factors prevent such collocation on reasonable economic terms consistent with the actual capital and operating expenses of the facility, and with the construction on ongoing operation of the tower. The application shall provide documentation on this subject on request of the City of Rossford.
(l) Mobile or immobile equipment not used in direct support of a wireless telecommunications facility shall not be stored or parked on the site, unless repairs to the facility are being made.
(m) All abandoned or unused wireless telecommunication facilities shall be removed by the operator within six (6) months of the continuous cessation of use unless ownership and use thereof has been transferred to another person.
(n) When a proposed wireless telecommunications facility is to include a new tower, the applicant shall submit a site plan to the Planning Commission and include the following information in addition to such information required in Chapter 1111 (Site Plan Review Procedures):
(1) Provide a map Indicating the location of all structures and buildings and their use within three hundred (300) feet of the planned wireless telecommunications facility.
(2) Provide a landscape plan showing how the wireless telecommunications facility will be screened from adjoining uses.
(3) Provide evidence of written contact with all wireless service providers who supply service within two thousand (2,000) feet of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire about potential collocation opportunities at all technically feasible locations. The applicant’s letters to providers, as well as responses, shall be required as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower and to establish proof that a newly constructed tower is necessary since collocation of an existing tower is not feasible.
(4) Provide a statement of need by the applicant, clearly demonstrating why the proposed facility must be located where it is proposed and why other nearby structures cannot be used to support the proposed antenna and why a tower and the proposed site is technically necessary.
(5) Provide evidence of legal access to the tower site thereby maintaining this access regardless of other development that may take place on the site.
(6) Demonstrate that the design of the tower complies with all FCC and FAA regulations concerning radio frequency, electromagnetic emission standards, and safety.
(7) Provide elevation plans showing the proposed telecommunications facility and the specifications for the antenna and support structure shall be submitted. The applicant must also submit information concerning the telecommunication tower’s maximum capacity in terms of antenna.
(8) Submit a statement of compliance confirming that the proposed facility complies will all federal and state laws and regulations concerning aviation safety.
(9) Submit a maintenance plan of how the facility will be maintained in the future and by whom.
(10) Any other information deemed necessary by the Zoning Inspector.
(o) Satellite Dishes.
(1) Purpose. Supplemental regulations governing telecommunication facilities are established for the construction, erection, maintenance, extension and removal of telecommunication facilities in specified zoning districts and to balance the competing interests created by the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104) and the interests of the City in regulating satellite dishes and related facilities for the following reasons:
A. To provide for and protect the health, safety and general welfare of residents and visitors.
B. To provide for orderly development;
C. To protect property values;
D. To reduce the visual impact of antennas in a municipality containing both old and new homes, many with historic and architecturally significant features;
E. To maintain unique residential character, unobstructed open spaces, and attractive commercial and office/industrial areas;
F. To protect residential properties, parks, open spaces and the commercial zoning districts from the intense and adverse effects of towers and related facilities;
G. To promote collocation of telecommunications facilities in order to decrease the total number of towers;
H. To reduce potential contact and conflicts between antennas and utility lines, both above and below grade level;
I. To minimize obstructions to visibility around streets, sidewalks and driveways;
J. To reduce impediments to moving people and equipment near buildings and to avoid interference with firefighting and emergency ingress and egress, both at and above grade level;
K. To reduce potential attractive nuisance to children, animals, etc.;
L. To reduce the exposure of the antenna to high wind forces, particularly from tornadoes, and reduce hazards from falling and wind-propelled objects;
M. To limit interference with natural sunlight and the circulation of air and to preserve space for trees and other plants.
(2) Applicability.
A. No person shall construct, erect, maintain, extend, or remove a satellite dish without compliance with the provisions of this section.
B. Exempt Satellite Dishes. The following satellite dishes are exempt from this Zoning Ordinance when located behind all front and side yard setback lines unless such restriction precludes reception of an acceptable quality signal:
1. Satellite dishes two (2) meters or less in diameter when proposed as an accessory use in any commercial or industrial zoning district;
2. Satellite dishes one (1) meter or less in diameter when proposed as an accessory use in any zoning district.
(3) Satellite dishes shall be an accessory structure in any district subject to the following general restrictions:
A. The “dish” portion of a satellite dish over two (2) feet in diameter shall have a surface of open mesh construction, and shall not have a solid surface.
B. The satellite dish apparatus shall be painted to complement the surrounding environment and be harmonious with neighboring property.
C. The satellite dish shall not be located in a side yard or between the principal building and the right-of way unless such restriction precludes reception of an acceptable quality signal.
D. A satellite dish shall be constructed and mounted in such manner that it will withstand wind forces of up to seventy-five (75) miles an hour.
E. Ground-mounted satellite dishes shall be mounted upon a solid concrete slab. Any guy wires attached to a satellite dish apparatus shall be enclosed by an approved fence. The site of the apparatus shall be screened with shrubbery and/or landscaped.
F. Only metal supports of galvanized construction shall be used.
G. Any driving motor shall be limited to one-hundred and ten (110) volt maximum power and shall be encased in a protective guard.
H. All wiring between the apparatus and any other structure shall be placed underground in approved conduit. The satellite dish apparatus shall be bonded to an approved grounding rod.
(4) In residential districts, satellite dishes shall be subject to the following additional limitations:
A. The use of the satellite dish is restricted to receiving signals for television or radio communications for the use or enjoyment of those occupying the main building.
B. The maximum diameter of any ground mounted satellite dish shall not exceed six (6) feet in diameter. The maximum diameter of any building-mounted satellite dish apparatus shall not exceed one (1) meter.
C. The maximum height of any ground-mounted satellite dish shall not exceed eight (8) feet above the finished grade.
D. Roof mounted satellite dishes are not permitted in residential districts.
(Ord. 2008-06. Passed 4-14-08.)