(A) Information required. Each applicant requesting a special use permit under this subchapter shall submit a sealed site plan and a scaled elevation view and other supporting drawings, calculations, and other documentation, signed and sealed by appropriate licensed professional engineers, showing the following information:
(1) Location and dimensions of all improvements on leased or purchased area;
(2) Information concerning topography;
(3) Property lines of site;
(4) Radio frequency coverage;
(5) Tower height requirements;
(6) Setbacks;
(7) Proposed points of ingress and egress;
(8) Parking;
(9) Fencing;
(10) Landscaping and buffers;
(11) Adjacent uses within 500 feet of the tower fall zone;
(12) Proposed number of telecommunication carriers;
(13) Any other information deemed by the governing authority to be necessary to assess compliance with this subchapter; and
(14) Lease agreement signed by property owners (if applicable).
(B) Factors considered in granting special use permits. The governing authority shall consider the following factors in determining whether to issue a special use permit, although the governing authority may waive or reduce the burden on the applicant of one or more of these criteria, if the governing authority concludes that the goals of this subchapter are better served thereby:
(1) Height of the proposed tower;
(2) Proximity of the tower to residential structures and residential district boundaries;
(3) Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties;
(4) Surrounding topography;
(5) Surrounding tree coverage and foliage;
(6) Design of the tower, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness;
(7) Proposed ingress and egress;
(8) Availability of suitable existing towers and other structures as discussed in division (C) below; and/or
(9) Co-location of other telecommunications carriers as discussed in division (D) below.
(C) Availability of suitable existing towers or other structures. No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the governing authority that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following:
(1) No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet applicant's engineering requirements;
(2) Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements;
(3) Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment;
(4) The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna;
(5) The fees, costs or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable; or
(6) The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
(D) Co-location of other telecommunication carriers.
(1) All new towers or structures shall be designed to accommodate multiple carriers. The minimum number of earners will be height dependent based on the following ranges:
(a) One carrier for towers up to 90 feet in height;
(b) Three carriers for towers from 90 to 120 feet in height; and
(c) Five or more carriers for towers over 120 feet in height.
(2) Applicants shall agree to lease space at commercially reasonable rates and shall also make towers available for use by Rockingham County and town emergency service agencies at no charge to the county.
(E) Minimum lot or leased area. Minimum lot or leased area, set aside for the use of a tower facility within the town limits, shall be equal to the minimum lot size for the district in which it is located. Minimum lot or leased area set aside for the use of a tower facility in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) shall be no less than the fall zone of the tower and shall include all required buffers and setbacks as required by this subchapter.
(F) Special use districts. Residential Agricultural (RA); Business, Office, and Institutional (B-l); Highway Business (HB); and Industrial (I-1).
(G) Certified supporting information. Any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical, or electrical, shall be certified by a licensed professional engineer.
(H) Setbacks and separation. The following setbacks and separation requirements shall apply to all towers and antennas for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the governing authority may reduce the standard setbacks and separation requirements if the goals of this subchapter would be better served thereby.
(1) Tower facilities in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Tower facilities sited in the ETJ of the town must be set back a distance equal to the height of the tower from any residential structure and/or property line. Also, to encourage the construction of monopole structures, monopole towers may have a 20% reduction in the required setbacks. To encourage location of towers in existing forested areas with a minimum depth of 100 feet, the tower may have a 20% reduction in the required setbacks. In no case shall the setback be less than those required for the underlying zoning district. Said setback reductions shall only be allowed upon a professional engineering certification which states that the structure's construction will cause the tower to crumble inward so that in the event of collapse no damage to structures or adjacent zoning lots will result.
(2) Tower facilities within the town limits. Tower facilities shall meet the setback requirements for principal structures of the underlying zoning district in which they are located, provided that the tower facility has professional engineering certification which states that the structure's construction will cause the tower to crumble inward so that in the event of collapse no damage to structures on adjacent zoning lots will result.
(3) Attached antennas. Attached antennas shall meet the setback provisions of the underlying zoning district in which they are located. However, an attached antenna array may extend up to 30 inches horizontally beyond the edge of the attachment structure so long as the antenna does not encroach upon an abutting parcel.
(4) Towers, guys, and accessory facilities. Towers, guys, and accessory facilities must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements.
(I) Security fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six feet in height and shall also be equipped with an appropriate anti-climbing device; provided, however, that the governing authority may waive such requirements, as it deems appropriate.
(J) Landscaping. The following requirements shall be maintained by the applicant and shall apply to all tower facilities and shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the governing authority may waive such requirements if the goals of this chapter would be better served thereby.
(1) New tower facilities. Tower facilities shall be landscaped with a buffer of evergreen plant materials that effectively screens the view of the tower compound from adjacent residential property. The following specifications shall be planted with a minimum landscaped area often feet in depth outside the perimeter of the compound security fence:
(a) One row of evergreen trees six feet in height shall be installed with a maximum spacing of ten feet; and
(b) All plants and trees shall be indigenous to this part of North Carolina and be drought resistant.
(2) Land-form preservation. Existing mature tree growth and natural land-forms on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In some cases, such as towers sited on large, wooded lots, natural growth around the property perimeter may be a sufficient buffer. Vegetation that causes interference with antennas or inhibits access to tower facility may be trimmed or removed.
(3) Existing vegetation. Existing vegetation on a tower facility site may be used in lieu of required landscaping when approved by the Zoning Administrator.
(4) In locations where the visual impact of the tower would be minimal, the landscaping requirement may be reduced or waived altogether.
(Ord. passed 2-15-2006; Res. R-2021-03, passed 6-24-2021)