1243.07 MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION ERECTION, MAINTENANCE AND REMOVAL.

   EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS CHAPTER, ALL WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION FACILITIES SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS:

   A.    Spacing. There shall be a separation of a minimum of one-quarter (1/4) mile between Wireless Telecommunication Towers, including a separation of at least one-quarter (1/4) mile from any such Tower located outside the City’s corporate limits.

   B.    Height. All free-standing Wireless Telecommunication Towers, including Antennae and all appurtenances, shall be designed at the minimum functional height and shall generally not exceed the maximum height for buildings in the zoning district where the Tower is located by more than ten (10) feet. This maximum height standard may be modified upon a finding by the Planning & Zoning Commission that additional height is necessary to provide service to the geographical service area of the applicant, but any height modification allowed shall be less than one hundred and seventy (170) feet above grade. The height of any Equipment Shelter shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet from the approved grade. The maximum height of any Wireless Telecommunication Antenna or Equipment Shelter, installed on an existing building or structure pursuant to Section 1243.04B hereof, shall be no greater in height than ten (10) feet above the roof-line of the existing building or structure to which it is attached.

   C.    Setbacks. All Wireless Telecommunication Towers shall be set back from any rear or side property lines abutting a residentially-zoned or used lot a distance of at least fifty (50) feet, and a distance of at least twenty (20) feet from any rear or side property lines abutting any commercially or institutionally-zoned lot. Otherwise, all Wireless Telecommunication Facilities, other than Towers, shall comply with the required setbacks in the zoning district in which they are located. In no event shall a Wireless Telecommunication Tower or Facility be located in front of the principal building on the lot, if any, or in front of the front yard setback line as shown on the zoning map when no principal building is present on the lot.

   D.    Design.

      1.    All Wireless Telecommunication Towers shall be of a Monopole design, as opposed to a Lattice design. No guy wired Towers shall be permitted. All wires and conduit servicing Antennas shall be located inside the Tower.

      2.    All Wireless Telecommunication Facilities shall be subject to review by the Architectural Board of Review (ABR) for the purpose of enhancing the compatibility of the Facilities with their surroundings. The color of a Wireless Telecommunication Tower and/or Antennas shall be as determined by the ABR for the purpose of minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by the FCC or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

      3.    The Wireless Telecommunication Antennas shall be of a panel design and mounted flush to the Tower, building or structure which elevates the Antennas, unless the applicant can demonstrate that it is not feasible from an engineering standpoint to use such Antennas or to mount them in such a fashion.

   E.    Landscaping. A landscape buffer area of not less than fifteen (15) feet in depth shall be placed between the Wireless Telecommunication Facilities and the public rights-of-way and any adjacent properties from which there is a direct view of the Facilities, other than the Tower itself. Where the Facility abuts a residentially-zoned or used lot, a landscape buffer area of not less than twenty (20) feet in depth shall be placed between the Facility and the residential lot. The landscape buffer area shall have a tight screen fence of hardy evergreen shrubbery not less than six (6) feet in height. In addition, a minimum of one (1) shade tree, three inches (3") in trunk width when planted, shall be planted a minimum of every fifty (50) feet within the landscape buffer area to screen the Facilities from the public rights-of-way and adjacent properties. The landscaping shall be continuously maintained and promptly restored, if necessary.

   F.    Engineering Report. A report shall be prepared and submitted by a qualified and licensed professional engineers and shall provide proof of compliance with all applicable federal, state, county, and City regulations. The report shall include a detailed description of the Wireless Telecommunication Tower, Antenna (e), Equipment Shelter, and appurtenances, and shall certify that radio frequency emissions are in compliance with the regulations of the FCC.

   G.    Prospective Plans. All applicants for construction or erection of Wireless Telecommunication Towers shall be required to submit a five (5) year written plan for use of the proposed telecommunications facility, including plans for additional development of the site and signal coverage within the geographic area.

   H.    Maintenance.

      1.    The applicant shall submit a plan documenting how the Wireless Telecommunication Facility will be maintained on the site in an ongoing manner that meets industry standards.

      2.    On each biennial anniversary of the issuance of the building permit for a Wireless Telecommunication Facility, or not more than ninety (90) days prior thereto, the owner/user shall submit to the City a report prepared by a licensed professional engineer(s) which shall verify continued compliance of the Facility with all governmental requirements including, but not limited to, the structural integrity and stability of any Towers or Antennas, electrical safety standards, and auxiliary power source safety standards.

   I.    Lighting Prohibited. Except as required by law, a Wireless Telecommunication Antenna or Tower shall not be illuminated and lighting fixtures or signs shall not be attached to the Antenna or Tower. If lighting is required by FAA regulations, the most visually nonobtrusive “state-of-the-art” lighting available shall be used, unless otherwise required by the FAA.

   J.    Security.

      1.    Climbing rungs or other apparatus designed to assist a person to climb a Wireless Telecommunication Tower shall be located on the Tower no lower than twenty (20) feet above grade.

      2.    Other security measures for the Facility shall be determined by the Planning Commission as is appropriate under the circumstances of the particular application.

   K.    Advertising Prohibited. No advertising sign(s) or devices shall be permitted anywhere on a Wireless Telecommunication Facility site.

   L.    Outdoor Storage. There shall be no outdoor storage of equipment or other items on the Wireless Telecommunication Facility site except during the Facility construction period and to supply temporary emergency power to the Facility only during a power outage.

   M.    Access to Facility. The access driveway to the Wireless Telecommunication Facility shall, whenever feasible, be provided along with circulation driveways of the existing use on the lot, if any. Where use of an existing driveway is not feasible, the driveway to the Facility shall be a minimum of twelve (12) feet in width with a minimum overhead clearance of eleven (11) feet and shall be setback a minimum of twenty (20) feet from the nearest side or rear lot line. This driveway shall meet the load limitations for fire equipment. There shall be a maximum of one (1) offstreet parking space on the Facility site.

   N.   Accessory Equipment Shelter. Only one (1) Equipment Shelter accessory to a Wireless Telecommunication Tower or Antenna, or the configuration of more than one (1) Equipment Shelter constructed to appear that there is only one (1) Equipment Shelter, shall be permitted on a lot. The size of an Equipment Shelter shall depend on the total number of separate entities having Antennas located at the Facility. The maximum total size of an Equipment Shelter for one (1) entity having Antennas at a Facility shall be two hundred fifty (250) square feet. The maximum cumulative size of Equipment Shelter(s) for two (2) entities having Antennas at a Facility shall be five hundred (500) square feet. The maximum cumulative total size of all Equipment Shelters for more than two (2) entities having Antennas at a Facility shall be seven hundred fifty (750) square feet. The maximum height of an Equipment Shelter shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet above the approved grade at the site for an Equipment Shelter with a pitched roof and a maximum height of ten (10) feet above the approved grade at the site for an Equipment Shelter with a flat roof. The roof and facade of the Equipment Shelter shall be compatible as to architectural design and materials with the principal building on the lot, if any, and shall be subject to review by the Architectural Board of Review pursuant to Chapter 1309 of the Building Code. Where it is technically feasible and reasonably practical, an existing building or structure on a lot shall be used to shelter the equipment associated with a Wireless Telecommunication Facility.

Any Equipment Shelter located on the roof of an existing building shall comply with Section 1243.04B of this Chapter.

   O.    Undergrounding of Utilities. All utility lines from the utility source to the Wireless Telecommunication Facility shall be underground.

   P.    Time Limit for Commencement and Completion. After issuance of a building permit to construct a Wireless Telecommunication Facility, the applicant shall commence and complete construction as required by Section 1303.08 of the Building Code.

   Q.    Abandonment and Removal of Facilities.

      1.    The applicant for the Wireless Telecommunication Facility shall be required as a condition of issuance of a building permit to post a cash or surety bond acceptable to the Director of Law of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per vertical foot from grade of the Wireless Telecommunication Facility. If an access drive which is separate from an existing access drive on the property is required to be constructed for a Wireless Telecommunication Facility, the owner/operator of the Facility shall also be required as a condition of issuance of a building permit to post a cash or surety bond acceptable to the Director of Law of not less than thirty dollars ($30.00) per linear foot of access drive. The bond(s) shall insure that an abandoned, obsolete or destroyed Wireless Telecommunication Facility and/or access drive shall be removed within one hundred eighty (180) days of cessation of use or abandonment. Any successor-in-interest or assignee of the applicant shall be required to additionally execute such bond, as principal, to insure that the bond will be in place during the period of time that the successor-in-interest or assignee occupies the Facility.

      2.    The owner/user of the Wireless Telecommunication Facility shall, on no less than an annual basis from the date of issuance of the building permit, file a declaration with the Zoning Administrator as to the continuing operation of each of its Facilities within the City.

      3.    If at any time the use of the Wireless Telecommunication Facility is discontinued for one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days, the Facility shall be deemed abandoned. The Zoning Administrator shall notify the owner/user in writing and advise that the Facility must be reactivated within ninety (90) days or it must be dismantled and removed from the site and the site restored to a landscaped condition within that same ninety (90) day period, all at the cost of the owner/user. The owner/user shall have the right to appeal the Zoning Administrator's decision to require removal of an abandoned Facility to the Board of Zoning Appeals pursuant to Section 1213.02 of the Zoning Ordinance.