A. SWF design and development standards. SWFs are subject to those design and development standards and conditions of approval set forth in the SWF regulations. The city’s grant of a WTFP for a SWF does not waive, and shall not be construed to waive, any standing by the city to challenge any FCC orders or rules related to small cell facilities, or any modification to those FCC orders or rules.
B. Eligible facilities request design and development standards. Approved eligible facilities requests for which the findings set forth in § 12.21.060 have been made are subject to the following conditions, unless modified by the approving authority:
1. WTFP subject to conditions of underlying permit. Any WTFP granted in response to an application qualifying as an eligible facilities request shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the underlying permit and all such conditions that were applicable to the facility prior to approval of the subject eligible facility request.
2. No permit term extension. The city’s grant or grant by operation of law of an eligible facilities request permit constitutes a federally-mandated modification to the underlying permit or approval for the subject tower or base station. Notwithstanding any permit duration established in another permit condition, the city’s grant or grant by operation of law of an eligible facilities request permit will not extend the permit term for the underlying permit or any other underlying regulatory approval, and its term shall have the same term as the underlying permit or other regulatory approval for the subiect tower or base station.
3. No waiver of standing. The city’s grant or grant by operation of law of an eligible facilities request does not waive, and shall not be construed to waive, any standing by the city to challenge § 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act, any FCC rules that interpret § 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act or any modification to § 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act.
C. Major WTFP design and development standards. All wireless telecommunications facilities subject to a Major WTFP that are located within the PROW shall be designed and maintained as to minimize visual, noise and other impacts on the surrounding community and shall be planned, designed, located, and erected in accordance with the following standards:
1. General guidelines.
a. The applicant shall employ screening. undergrounding and camouflage design techniques in the desiqn and placement of wireless telecommunications facilities in order to ensure that the facility is as visuallv screened as possible, to prevent the facility from dominating the surrounding area and to minimize significant view impacts from surrounding properties and public views, all in a manner that achieves compatibility with the community and in compliance with this code.
b. Screening shall be designed to be architecturally compatible with surroundina structures using appropriate techniques to camouflage, disguise, and/or blend into the environment, including landscaping, color, and other techniques to minimize the facility’s visual impact as well as be compatible with the architectural character of the surrounding buildings or structures in terms of color, size, proportion, style, and quality.
c. Wireless telecommunications facilities shall be located consistent with § 12.21.080 (Location Restrictions) unless an exception is granted.
2. Traffic safety. All facilities shall be designed and located in such a manner as to avoid adverse impacts on traffic safety.
3. Blending methods. All facilities shall have subdued colors and non-reflective materials that blend with the materials and colors of the surrounding area, infrastructure and structures.
4. Equipment. The applicant shall use the least visible equipment for the provision of wireless telecommunications services that is technically feasible. Antenna elements shall be flush mounted, to the extent feasible, with all cables and wires clipped up or otherwise out of public view. All antenna mounts shall be designed so as not to preclude possible future collocation by the same or other operators or carriers. Unless otherwise provided in this Section, antennas shall be situated as close to the ground as technically feasible.
5. Support structures.
a. Pole-mounted only. Only pole-mounted antennas (excepting wooden poles per subparaqraph 5.b below) shall be permitted in the public right-of-way. Mountings to all other forms of support structure in the public right-of-way are prohibited unless an exception pursuant to § 12.21.080 is granted.
b. Utility poles. Wireless telecommunications facilities shall not be located on wooden poles unless an exception pursuant to § 12.21.080 is granted. The maximum height of any antenna shall not exceed 48 inches above the height of an existing utility pole, nor shall any portion of the antenna or equipment mounted on a pole be less than twenty-four feet above any drivable road surface. All installations on utility poles shall fully comply with the CPUC general orders, including, but not limited to, General Order 95, as may be revised or superseded.
c. Light poles. The maximum heiqht of any antenna shall not exceed four feet above the existing height of a light pole. Any portion of the antenna or equipment mounted on a pole shall be no less than sixteen and one-half feet above any drivable road surface.
d. Replacement poles. If an applicant proposes to replace a pole that is an eligible support structure to accommodate the proposed facility, the replacement pole shall be designed to resemble the appearance and dimensions of existing poles near the proposed location, including size, height, color, materials and style to the maximum extent feasible.
e. Equipment mounted on a support structure shall not exceed four cubic feet in dimension.
f. No new guy wires shall be allowed unless required by other laws or regulations.
g. An exception pursuant to § 12.21.080 shall be required to erect any new support structure (non-eligible support structure) that is not the replacement of an existing eligible support structure.
h. As applicable to all new support structures (non-eligible support structures), regardless of locationt the following requirements shall apply:
(i) Such new support structure shall be designed to resemble existing support structures of the same type in the right-of-way near that location, including size, height, color, materials and style, with the exception of any existing structural designs that are scheduled to be removed and not replaced.
(ii) Such new support structures that are not replacement structures shall be located at least ninety feet from any eligible support structure to the extent feasible.
(iii) Such new support structures shall not adversely impact public view corridors, as defined in the general plan, and shall be located to the extent feasible in an area where there is existing natural or other feature that obscures the view of the new support structure. The applicant shall further employ concealment techniques to blend the new support structure with said features including but not limited to the addition of veqetation if feasible.
(iv) A justification analysis shall be submitted for all new support structures that are not replacements to demonstrate why an eligible support facility cannot be utilized and demonstrating the new structure is the least intrusive means possible, including a demonstration that the new structure is designed to be the minimum functional height and width required to support the proposed wireless telecommunications facility.
i. All cables, including, but not limited to, electrical and utility cables, shall be run within the interior of the support structure and shall be camouflaged or hidden to the fullest extent feasible. For all support structures wherein interior installation is infeasible, conduit and cables attached to the exterior shall be mounted flush thereto and painted to match the structure.
6. Space. Each facility shall be desiqned to occupy the least amount of space in the right-of-way that is technically feasible.
7. Wind loads. Each facility shall be properly engineered to withstand wind loads as required by this code or any duly adopted or incorporated code. An evaluation of high wind load capacity shall include the impact of modification of an existing facility.
8. Obstructions. Each component part of a facility shall be located so as not to cause any physical or visual obstruction to pedestrian or vehicular traffic, incommode the public’
9. Public facilities. A facility shall not be located within any portion of the public right-of-way interfering with access to a fire hydrant, fire station, fire escape, water valve, underground vault valve housing structure, or any other public health or safety facility.
10. Screening. All ground-mounted facility, pole-mounted equipment, or walls, fences, landscaping or other screening methods shall be installed at least eighteen inches from the curb and gutter flow line.
11. Accessory equipment. Not including the electric meter, all accessory equipment shall be located underground, except as provided below:
a. Unless city staff determines that there is no room in the public right-of-way for undergrounding, or that undergrounding is not feasible, an exception pursuant to § 12.21.080 shall be required in order to place accessory equipment above-ground and concealed with natural or manmade features to the maximum extent possible.
b. When above-ground is the only feasible location for a particular type of accessory equipment and will be ground-mounted, such accessory equipment shall be enclosed within a structure, and shall not exceed a height of five feet and a total footprint of fifteen square feet, and shall be fully screened and/or camouflaged, including the use of landscaping architectural treatment, or acceptable alternate screening. Required electrical meter cabinets shall be screened and/or camouflaged. Also, while pole-mounted equipment is generally the least favored installation, should pole-mounted equipment be sought, it shall be installed as required in this chapter.
c. In locations where homes are only along one side of a street, above-ground accessory equipment shall not be installed directly in front of a residence. Such aboveground accessory equipment shall be installed along the side of the street with no homes. However, if said location is located within the landslide hazard area or the liquefaction hazard area referenced in the Safety Element of the General Plan pages 32 and 33 and illustrated on Figure 5., then such locations shall be referred to the city’s geotechnical staff for review and recommendations.
12. Landscaping. Where appropriate, each facility shall be installed so as to maintain and enhance existing landscaping on the site, including trees, foliage and shrubs. Additional landscaping shall be planted, irrigated and maintained by applicant where such landscaping is deemed necessary by the city to provide screening or to conceal the facility.
13. Signage. No facility shall bear any signs or advertising devices other than certification, warning or other signage required by law or permitted by the city.
14. Lighting.
a. No facility may be illuminated unless specifically required by the FAA or other government agency. Beacon lights are not permitted unless required by the FAA or other government agency.
b. Legally required lightning arresters and beacons shall be included when calculating the height of facilities such as towers, lattice towers and monopoles.
c. Any required lighting shall be shielded to eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods.
d. Unless otherwise required under FAA or FCC regulations, applicants may install only timed or motion-sensitive light controllers and lights, and must install such lights so as to avoid illumination impacts to adjacent properties to the maximum extent feasible. The city may, in its discretion, exempt an applicant from the foregoing requirement when the applicant demonstrates a substantial public safety need.
e. The applicant shall submit a lighting study which shall be prepared by a qualified lighting professional to evaluate potential impacts to adjacent properties. Should no lighting be proposed, no lighting study shall be required.
15. Noise.
a. Backup generators shall only be operated during periods of power outages, and shall not be tested on weekends or holidays, or between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
b. At no time shall equipment noise from any facility exceed the noise levels permitted by Chapter 9.16 of this code.
16. Security. Each facility shall be designed to be resistant to, and minimize opportunities for, unauthorized access. climbing, vandalism, graffiti and other conditions that would result in hazardous situations, visual blight or attractive nuisances. The public works director or the approving city body, as applicable, may require the provision of warning signs, fencing, anti-climbing devices, or other techniques to prevent unauthorized access and vandalism when, because of their location and/or accessibility, a facility has the potential to become an attractive nuisance. Additionally, no lethal devices or elements shall be installed as a security device.
17. Modification. Consistent with current state and federal laws and if permissible under the same, at the time of modification of a wireless telecommunications facility, existing equipment shall, to the extent feasible, be replaced with equipment that reduces visual, noise and other impacts, including, but not limited to, undergrounding the equipment and replacing larger, more visually intrusive facilities with smaller, less visually intrusive facilities.
18. The installation and construction approved by a wireless telecommunications facility permit shall begin within one year after its approval or it will expire without further action by the city.
19. Conditions of approval. All Major WTFPs shall be subject to such conditions of approval as reasonably imposed by the public works director or the approving city body, as applicable, as well as any modification of the conditions of approval deemed necessary by the public works director or the approving city body. (Ord. 2019-04-1504 § 6)