(a) Wireless telecommunications facilities as defined herein as conditionally permitted uses on all Municipality owned property within an Institutional District; otherwise they are not permitted in the Municipality. Council, with notice to neighboring property owners in the manner provided in Section 1109.04(c), may approve such uses in accordance with the standards in Section 1133.06 and the following.
(b) The following definitions apply herein:
(1) “Collocation” means the use of a wireless telecommunications facility by more than one wireless telecommunications provider.
(2) “Lattice tower” means a support structure constructed of vertical metal struts and cross braces forming a triangular structure which often tapers from the foundation to the top.
(3) “Monopole” means a support structure constructed of a single, self- supporting hollow metal tube securely anchored to a foundation.
(4) “Open space” means land devoted to conservation or recreational purposes and/or land designated by a municipality to remain undeveloped (may be specified on a zoning map).
(5) “Telecommunication” means the technology which enables information to be exchanged through the transmission of voice, video, or data signals by means of electrical or electromagnetic systems.
(6) “Wireless telecommunications antenna” means the physical device through which electromagnetic, wireless telecommunications signals authorized by the Federal Communications Commission are transmitted or received. Antennas used by amateur radio operators are excluded from this definition.
(7) “Wireless telecommunications equipment shelter” means the structure in which the electronic receiving and relay equipment for a wireless telecommunications facility is housed.
(8) “Wireless telecommunications facility” mean a facility consisting of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines.
(9) “Wireless telecommunications tower” means a structure intended to support equipment used to transmit and/or receive telecommunications signals include monopoles, guyed and lattice construction steel structures.
(c) The following requirements apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities.
(1) When the proposed wireless telecommunications facility is to include a new tower, a plot plan at a scale of not less than one inch is equal to 100 feet shall be submitted. This plot plan shall indicate all building uses within 300 feet of the proposed facility. Aerial photos and/or renderings may augment the plot plan.
(2) The location of the tower and equipment shelter shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established in the Zoning Code, including those for floodplain, wetlands and steep slopes.
(3) Security fencing eight feet in height shall surround the tower, equipment shelter and any guy wires, either completely or individually as determined by Council.
(4) The following buffer plantings shall be located around the perimeter of the security fence as deemed appropriate by Council.
A. An evergreen screen shall be planted that consists of either a hedge, planted three feet on center maximum, or a row of evergreen trees planted five feet on center maximum.
(5) Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(6) Any applicant requesting permission to install a new tower shall provide evidence of written contact with all wireless service providers who supply service within a quarter mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire about potential collocation opportunities at all technical feasible locations. The contacted providers shall be requested to respond in writing to the inquiry within thirty days. The letter(s) as well as response(s) shall be presented to Council as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower.
(7) 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).
(8) No advertising is permitted anywhere on the facility, with the exception of identification signage.
(9) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to the Building Inspector notifying them of any tower facility located in the Municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date will cease. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for 180 days, the City Administration may declare the facility abandoned. The facility’s owner/operator will receive written notice from the Building Inspector and instructed to either reactivate the facility’s use within 180 days, or dismantle and remove the facility. If reactivation or dismantling does not occur, the City will remove or will contract to have removed the facility and assess the owner/operator the costs. The owner/operator shall post a bond in form and amount sufficient to ensure compliance herewith, to be determined and approved by the City Solicitor and Engineer.
(10) No tower under 150 feet shall be artificially lighted except to assure safety or as required by the FAA. Any tower between 150 and 200 feet in height shall follow safety marking and obstruction lighting as prescribed by the FAA. Security lighting around the equipment shelter is permitted.
(11) “No Trespassing” signs shall be posted around the facility with a telephone number of whom to contract in the event of an emergency.
(12) Applicants will provide evidence of legal access to the tower site thereby maintaining this access regardless of other developments that may take place on site.
(13) A Site Plan must be approved by Council with a subsequent Building Permit issued by the Building Inspector for construction of new towers. Collocation of antennas on a single tower, antennas attached to existing structures/building, or replacement towers to be constructed at the site of a current tower shall also comply with such procedures.
A. The applicant shall present a landscaping plan that indicates how the wireless telecommunications facility will be screened from adjoining uses.
B. The applicant shall demonstrate that the telecommunications tower must be located where it is proposed in order to service the applicant’s service area. There shall be an explanation of why a tower and this proposed site are technically necessary.
C. Any applicant requesting permission to install a new tower shall provide evidence of written contact with all wireless service providers who supply service within a quarter mile of the proposed facility. The applicant shall inquire potential collocation opportunities at all technically feasible locations. The contracted providers shall be requested to respond in writing to the inquiry within thirty days . The applicant’s letter(s) as well as response(s) shall be presented as a means of demonstrating the need for a new tower.
(14) A Tower to support an antenna not attached to an existing structure or building, may be constructed where permitted, subject to the following conditions:
A. The Tower shall be set back from any property line abutting a residential lot by 300 feet and have a buffer screen (subsection (4) above), otherwise it shall conform to the district yard and setback requirements for a main building.
B. Maximum height -
Tower: 200 feet (included antenna)
Equipment shelter: The maximum building height for the applicable district
C. The maximum size of the equipment shelter shall not exceed 300 square feet, or if there is more than one, 750 total square feet, and shall conform to the district yard and setback requirements for a main building, and shall have a buffer in accordance with subsection (4) above.
D. Vehicular access to the tower and equipment shelter shall, whenever feasible, be provided along the circulation driveways of the existing use.
(15) Where possible, an antenna for a wireless telecommunications facility shall be attached to an existing structure or building subject to the following conditions:
A. Maximum height -
Twenty feet or twenty percent (20%) of the building height above the existing building or structure, whichever is greater.
B. If the applicant proposes to locate the telecommunications equipment in a separate shelter (not located on, or attached to, the building), the shelter shall comply with the following:
1. The minimum setback requirements for the district.
2. A buffer yard shall be planted in accordance with subsection (4) above.
3. Vehicular access to the shelter shall not interfere with the parking or vehicular circulation on the site for the principal use.
4. The maximum size of the equipment shelter shall not exceed 300 square feet, or if there is more than one, 750 total square feet.
(Ord. 50-1997. Passed 7-21-97.)