The following standards shall apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities and wireless telecommunications equipment buildings. These general standards shall be considered by the Planning Commission, and the Legislative Authority's determination as to whether or not a special permit will be issued for a wireless telecommunications antenna and/or wireless telecommunications tower will depend upon the applicant's demonstration of compliance with such standards.
(a) A plot plan or aerial photographs, including all existing buildings and structures within five hundred feet, shall be required at a scale not less than one inch is equal to one hundred feet. The plot plan shall include the subject lot, premises or parcel of land, and all buildings thereon, and shall show, among other things, the exact location of the proposed wireless telecommunications antenna and its support structures and the exact location and dimensions of proposed wireless telecommunications equipment building(s), fence(s) and landscaping.
(b) Documentation that the height of the proposed wireless telecommunications tower is the minimum necessary for operation, and for the collocation of additional wireless telecommunications antennas, shall be submitted.
(c) The placement of poles, wireless telecommunications towers, wireless telecommunications equipment structures and wireless telecommunications antennas shall meet the minimum setback requirements for principal buildings set forth in this Zoning Code for the zoning district in which the wireless telecommunications antenna and/or wireless telecommunications tower is proposed to be located. However, the minimum distance between the wireless telecommunications tower and structures on adjacent parcels, other than fences, shall be two hundred feet. This standard shall not apply to Village owned property.
(d) Screen fencing shall be provided for aesthetic and public safety reasons. A fence eight feet in height shall completely surround the wireless telecommunications tower and any related support facilities. Barbed and razor wire fencing is prohibited unless specifically approved by the Planning Commission.
(e) Buffer plantings shall be located around the perimeter of the fence as follows:
(1) A landscaped buffer yard of not less than ten feet in depth shall be placed between the structure or structures and the public rights-of-way.
(2) The ten-foot landscape buffer shall consist of a tight fence of hardy evergreen shrubbery not less than six feet in height, three feet on center maximum, at the time of planting.
(3) Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(f) The applicant shall agree that a report prepared by a registered Ohio design professional shall be included with the application for a special permit. The report shall contain the height and design of the wireless telecommunications tower, proof of compliance with structural standards set forth in the Ohio Building Code (OBC) and a description of the tower's capacity, including the number and types of wireless telecommunications antennas it can accommodate.
(g) The applicant shall agree that a soil report prepared by a registered Ohio design professional shall be included with the building permit application. The report shall describe the soil in the ultimate load bearing strata, including sufficient data to establish its character, nature and load bearing capacity as the same relate to the proposed wireless telecommunications facility.
(h) Outdoor storage of any supplies, vehicles or equipment related to the use of the wireless telecommunications facility is prohibited.
(i) Wireless telecommunications towers and wireless telecommunications antennas shall not be artificially lighted except to assure safety or as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Planning Commission.
(j) The wireless telecommunications tower shall be painted a non contrasting gray or similar color minimizing its visibility, unless otherwise required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A proposal in an application that tends to camouflage or blend the tower into the surroundings may be approved by the Planning Commission and the Legislative Authority.
(k) Every new wireless telecommunications equipment building shall comply with Section 1270.07 Construction Standards, a minimum of ten feet wide and a maximum size of 750 square feet. Elevation drawings shall be submitted illustrating the placement, heights, color and materials of the wireless telecommunications equipment building, the wireless telecommunications antenna and its support structure. Apart from the wireless telecommunications tower monopole structure, the wireless telecommunications facility appurtenances shall be aesthetically compatible with the architecture of the surrounding environment.
(l) Driveways, walks and parking areas shall be paved in accordance with Village requirements. All other areas shall be landscaped and kept maintained in accordance with the Exterior Property Maintenance Code (Chapter 1490 of the Building and Housing Code), any plans approved by the Planning Commission, and this Zoning Code.
(m) Warning signs, a maximum four square feet, shall be posted around the wireless telecommunications facility with an emergency telephone number of whom to contact in the event of an emergency.
(n) The wireless telecommunications facility owner/operator shall present a maintenance plan in which he or she shall be responsible for compliance with the Village's Exterior Property Maintenance Code.
(o) A permanent easement or evidence of legal access to the wireless telecommunications tower site shall be provided, thereby maintaining access regardless of other developments that may take place on the site.
(p) No advertising shall be permitted anywhere on the wireless telecommunications facility.
(q) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to the Building Department notifying it of any tower facility located in the Village whose use will be discontinued and the date this use will cease. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for one hundred eighty days, the Zoning Administrator may declare the facility abandoned. The facility's owner/operator will receive written notice from the Zoning Administrator and be instructed to either reactivate the facility's use within one hundred eighty days or dismantle and remove the facility. If reactivation or dismantling does not occur, the Village will remove or will contract to have the facility removed and assess the owner/operator the costs.
(Ord. 2009-17. Passed 9-15-2009.)