Wireless Telecommunications Facilities criteria are in place to minimize adverse health, safety, public welfare or visual impact through buffering, siting design and construction, and the reduction of the need for new or redundant wireless telecommunications facilities.
(A) General Requirements. The following requirements apply to all wireless telecommunications facilities regardless of the zoning district in which they are located.
(1) Design and Construction. Towers must be designed and certified by an engineer registered in the State of Ohio to be structurally sound and, at a minimum, in conformance with the Ohio Building Code (OBC).
(2) Maximum Height. The maximum height of the wireless telecommunications facility shall be the minimum height necessary to provide service.
(3) Resource Protection Standards. The location of a tower, equipment shelter and antenna support structure shall comply with all natural resource protection standards established for the protection of flood plains, wetlands and steep slopes as provided for in the Zoning, Flood Damage Prevention, Stormwater Control, Subdivision and other development codes.
(4) Security. All elements of a wireless telecommunication facility, either completely or individually, shall be secured against unauthorizedaccess by the public. Safety forces of the city and co-locators shall have reasonable access. "No Trespassing" signs shall be posted around the wireless telecommunications facility with a telephone number of whom to contact in the event of emergency. No fence shall be required on top of a building or other structure if access to the roof or top of the structure is secure.
(5) Landscaping. Existing vegetation (trees and shrubs) shall be preserved to the greatest extent possible. Buffer plantings shall be located around the perimeter of any security fence. In the alternative, an evergreen screen may be planted around the perimeter of the property.
(6) Visibility, Lighting, and Advertising. The tower shall be a non-contrasting gray or similar color minimizing its visibility, unless required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). All appurtenances shall be aesthetically and architecturally compatible with the surrounding environment by the means of camouflage. No tower shall be artificially lit except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). No advertising shall be permitted anywhere on the wireless telecommunication's facility.
(7) Co-location Requirements.
(a) Public Property.
(i) The city shall undertake an identification of publicly-owned properties that the city determines are suitable for such use. The city shall regularly update such identification and make the results of such identification available to the public.
(ii) Persons locating wireless telecommunications facilities upon such identified publicly-owned properties shall be exempted from the requirements herein regarding presentation of proof that co-locations are not available. However, persons locating wireless telecommunications facilities on publicly owned properties shall continue to be subject to the requirements contained in § 154.16.08(A).
(iii) In addition, persons locating wireless telecommunications facilities on publicly-owned properties identified by the city to be suitable for such purposes shall be exempt from the requirements of § 154.16.08 (B) and (C).
(b) Newly Constructed Wireless Telecommunication Towers.
(i) Prior to the construction of a new telecommunications tower, it must be proven that it is not feasible to co-locate on an existing tower. Owners of Wireless Tower Facilities must allow for potential co-location of additional wireless telecommunication facilities by other providers on the applicant's structure or within the same site location.
(ii) No new tower shall be constructed in the city unless such tower is capable of accommodating at least three additional wireless telecommunications facility owned by another person, if height is sufficient for coverage.
(8) Abandonment of Towers.
(a) All providers utilizing towers shall present a report to the Planning and Economic Development Director notifying them of any tower facility located in the municipality whose use will be discontinued and the date this use will cease. If at any time the use of the facility is discontinued for 180 days the Planning and Economic Development Director may declare the facility abandoned. The facility's owner/operator will receive written notice from the Planning and Economic Development Director and be 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 municipality will remove or will contract to have removed the facility as a public nuisance and assess the owner/operator the Costs.
(b) The city shall provide the tower owner with the right to a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals as with any appeal of an administrative zoning order. All interested parties shall be allowed an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing.
(c) After a public hearing is held, the Board of Zoning Appeals may order the acquisition or demolition of the tower. The city may require licensee to pay for all expenses necessary to acquire or demolish the tower.
(9) Variances and Special Exceptions. Any request to deviate from any of the requirements of this section shall require variance approval in conformance with the procedures set forth in Article 154.06.01 of the Zoning Code.
(B) Wireless Telecommunication Facilities in Residential Districts. Wireless telecommunication facilities that include towers are not permitted in L-D, R, or O-R districts except on any property with a public institutional use (e.g. park, library, government, school or utility). However, it must be proven that it is not technically feasible to locate in a more appropriate nonresidential zone. A wireless telecommunications facility may be located in a residential district subject to the following conditions:
(1) Combined with a Nonresidential Use. An antenna may be attached to a nonresidential building or a structure that is a permitted use in the district; including, but not limited to, a church, municipal or government building or facility, agricultural building, and a building or structure owned by a utility. The following conditions shall be met:
(a) Maximum height: 15 feet, measured from the highest point of the antenna, vertically downward to the highest point of the existing structure.
(b) If the applicant proposed to locate the telecommunication equipment in a separate equipment shelter, the equipment shelter shall comply with accessory building regulations and the following:
1. A buffer yard shall be planted in accordance with § 154.13.01(A).
2. Vehicular access to the equipment shelter shall not interfere with the parking or vehicular circulation on the site of the principal use.
(2) Located on a Nonresidential Use Property. A tower to support an antenna may be constructed on a property with a nonresidential use that is a permitted use within the district, including but not limited to a church, hospital, school, municipal or government building, facility, or structure, agricultural use and utility use, subject to the following conditions:
(a) Minimum yard requirements:
1. The tower shall be setback from any property line abutting a residential structure by 200 feet.
2. Equipment shelter: same as for principally permitted structures.
(b) Maximum height:
1. Tower: 200 feet, including the antenna.
2. Equipment shelter: same as the maximum height in the relevant zoning district.
(c) Vehicular access to the tower and equipment shelter shall, whenever feasible, be provided along the circulation driveways of the existing use.
(3) Located on a Residential Building. An antenna for a wireless telecommunications facility may be attached to a mid-rise or high-rise apartment building subject to the following conditions:
(a) Maximum height: 15 feet, measured from the highest point of the antenna, vertically downward to the highest point of the existing structure.
(b) If the applicant proposes to locate the telecommunications equipment in a separate equipment shelter (not located in, or attached to, the building), the equipment shelter shall comply with accessory building regulations and with the following:
1. A buffer yard shall be planted in accordance with § 154.16.09(A)(5).
2. Vehicular access to the equipment shelter shall, if at all possible, use the existing circulation system.
(4) Located in Open Space. A wireless telecommunications facility is permitted on land that has been established as permanent open space, or a park subject to the following conditions:
(a) The open space shall be owned by the municipality, county or state government, a homeowners association, charitable organization, or a private, non-profit association, charitable organization, or a private, non-profit conservation organization.
(b) Maximum height:
1. Tower: 200 feet, including the antenna.
2. Equipment shelter: same as the maximum height in the relevant zoning district.
(c) The tower shall be setback from any residential property line 200 feet.
(5) Equipment Shelters. Underground equipment shelters are required in residential districts unless the design is deemed compatible by the reviewing authority.
(F) Wireless Telecommunication Facilities in Non-residential Districts. Wireless telecommunication facilities located in an O, B-1, B-2, Olde Downtown, M-1 or M-2 District shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) Sole Use on a Lot. A wireless telecommunications facility is permitted as a sole use on a lot subject to the following requirements:
(a) Minimum lot size: two acres.
(b) Minimum yard requirements:
1. Tower: The minimum distance to any residential use or district lot line shall be 200 feet, otherwise same as for principally permitted structures.
2. Equipment shelter: Same as for principally permitted structures.
(c) Maximum height:
1. Tower: 200 feet, including any antenna.
2. Equipment shelter: same as for principally permitted structures.
(2) Combined with Another Use. A wireless telecommunications facility is permitted on a property with an existing use subject to the following requirements:
(a) The existing or future use on the property may be any permitted use in the district or any lawful nonconforming use, and need not be affiliated with the wireless telecommunications provider. The wireless telecommunications facility will not be considered an addition to the structure or value of a nonconforming use.
(b) Minimum yard requirements:
1. Tower: the minimum distance to any residential use or district lot line shall be 200 feet, otherwise the minimum distance is the same as for principally permitted structures.
2. Equipment shelter: same as for accessory structures.
(c) Maximum height:
1. Tower: 200 feet, including any antenna.
2. Equipment shelter: Same as for principally permitted structures.
(d) Access. The service access to the equipment shelter shall be provided along the circulation of the existing use whenever feasible.
(3) Combined with an Existing Structure. Where possible, an antenna for a wireless telecommunications facility shall be attached to an existing structure or building subject to the following requirements:
(a) Maximum height: 15 feet, measured from the highest point of the antenna, vertically downward to the highest point of the existing structure.
(b) If the applicant proposes to locate the telecommunications equipment in a separate equipment shelter not located on or attached to the building, the equipment shelter shall comply with the following:
1. Shall comply with the requirements for an accessory building.
2. Shall be located to the rear of the primary building or structure.
3. Vehicular access to the shelter shall not interfere with any required parking or vehicular circulation on the site for the principal use.
HISTORY: (Former § 154.186; Ord. 3063, passed 9-23-97)